Wednesday, July 12, 2023

John Wick 4 (2023)

It has been several months since John Wick (Keanu Reeves) survived being shot and falling off the New York Continental.  He has spent the time under the protection of the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) to heal and train.  He is now ready to take his revenge.  That does not go so well.  Meanwhile, the Marquis (Bill Skarsgard) deprives Winston (Ian McShane) of his hotel for failing to kill Wick (cf. John Wick 3).  Winston contacts John and suggests that he challenge the Marquis to a duel.  Of course, in order to do so, Wick would need a clan, which he no longer has.  Side quest time.  While Wick shoots his way through the various assassins sent to stop him, Caine (Donnie Yen) is also tracking him.  Though a friend of Wick's, he has been sent to kill him.  Of note, he is blind.  Can Wick survive long enough to attend his duel to the death?

The action is plentiful, perhaps too much so.  John Wick has gone from skilled assassin to superhero.  In one of his action pieces, he gets hit by several cars but keeps going.  The bulletproof suits have gotten ridiculous, such that anything but a headshot is negligible.  With how effective these suits are, why do you all have hoodies?  The assassin world has become too big.  Of all things, I was reminded of Harry Potter and how ludicrous it was that the wizarding world was unknown to the muggles despite how vast it was.  They run radio stations with assassin boards and regular notices, scores of assassins are available at a moments notice in Paris to run into John Wick's bullets.  Why do they all want to run up to Wick and shoot at pointblank range?  Have none of you heard of a sniper?

Though great fun to watch, the setting has gone off the rails.  Nonetheless, great popcorn fun and recommended.

No comments: