JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4. High-quality eye candy

Written by Piotr Zymelka

In the second part of Hot Shots!, there was a scene where Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) mowed down dozens of enemies with a machine gun. Eventually, he was waist-deep in spent shell casings, and a note popped up in the corner of the screen claiming it was the bloodiest movie ever. That image perfectly sums up the most recent (so far—“Part Five” has already been announced) installment in the John Wick saga, starring Keanu Reeves as the former assassin forced to flee from his old masters. The body count here reaches triple digits, and the main character gracefully cuts through hordes of enemies in increasingly spectacular brawls.

The first John Wick film took cinemas by storm and became a rather unexpected hit. It was the only one to retain even a shred of realism—albeit stylized. Each subsequent sequel pushed the boundaries of absurdity and spectacle further. The fourth chapter is no different. In it, John Wick is nearly superhuman, almost a superhero in a dark world of secret assassin societies. There’s no point looking for meaning—everything exists purely to deliver the most dazzling action possible. The script for John Wick: Chapter 4 follows a structure straight out of video games: the hero fights through successive levels, defeating dozens of foes to ultimately face off with the biggest and baddest boss.

There are even moments that could’ve come straight out of The Naked Gun with Leslie Nielsen—like when Wick and a thug shoot at each other from two meters away, with no cover, and neither manages to land a hit.

The director, a former stuntman, puts his experience to excellent use, delivering fight and shootout scenes with top-notch choreography. Importantly, there are very few editing cuts, allowing viewers to clearly follow the action and enjoy it fully. Two phenomenal long takes stand out in particular—shot from above, showing Wick battling his way through room after room in an abandoned building, dispatching dozens of gangsters. The filmmakers aren’t even pretending to offer more than a stylish bloodbath. Ideas like bulletproof suits are standard fare here, and the police or any other authorities are long forgotten.

The movie runs for nearly three hours, but you barely notice. We’re taken around the world, and the director masterfully maintains a pace that never dips—in fact, it gradually ramps up until the final act, set in my beloved Paris, explodes into an extravagant orgy of stylized violence. Bullets fly in every direction as Wick literally wades through corpses to reach his goal. At times—especially near the end of the more intense sequences—I did feel like Reeves (58 at the time of release) was running on fumes, but it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment. Many shots are breathtakingly beautiful—worthy of framing and hanging on the wall.

The John Wick universe, with its secret societies, ancient rituals, and unwritten rules reminiscent of mystical religious cults, has plenty of potential for expansion. The filmmakers know this: a series about the Continental hotel run by Winston (Ian McShane) has already been produced, as well as a spin-off starring Ana de Armas (coming soon to theaters). Reeves is set to appear in that one too. Initially, the plan was to shoot the fourth and fifth films in the main series back-to-back, but that idea was ultimately scrapped.

John Wick: Chapter 4 doesn’t disappoint. It delivers high-octane entertainment filled with visually stunning action scenes and a touch of humor. It’s utterly devoid of logic—but also full of atmosphere and a sheer sense of fun. Only the ending feels out of place, like a flower stuck in a sheepskin coat, compared to everything that came before. Still, fans of the previous installments (especially from the second film onward) will be thrilled. It’s high-quality eye candy—nothing more, but nothing less—and made with heart, which you can feel throughout the screening.