In a world where assassins are everywhere and every bullet fired carries a complex story, the John Wick Universe is the epitome of cinematic excellence. This adrenaline-filled saga consists of 4 movies, yet one stole the title of perfection: John Wick: Chapter 4.
Created by Derek Kolstad and masterfully performed by Keanu Reeves, this movie picks up where the previous movie John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum left off: John, betrayed by Winston, the proprietor of the New York Continental Hotel, had been thrown off the roof of the Hotel, presumably to his death. However, in John Wick: Chapter 4, he is healed of all of his wounds, and is ready to get his freedom from The High Table – the council that functions as the leadership of the criminal world. But before he can do this, he must face off against a powerful new enemy with dangerous alliances across the globe, as well as old friends that have turned into foes.
With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94 and a Metacritic score of 78, this masterpiece soars above all of the other John Wick movies. One of the most notable action scenes in John Wick: Chapter 4 is the Dragon’s Breath scene. Dragon’s Breath shotgun shells are special incendiary rounds that, when shot, spew fire along with its pellets. In this scene, John finds himself armed with a shotgun loaded with Dragon’s-Breath ammunition. As you can probably guess, these scenes had incredible visual effects, as well as many full body burn stunts, which are special effects that make it seem as though a person’s entire body is on fire.
This gunfight also introduced a different type of cinematographic style. For the first time in the John Wick series, this scene was filmed in a top-down perspective. This meant that the camera was looking down upon the shootout as it took place, allowing us to see Keanu Reeves’ brilliant acting and his remarkable reflexes. This scene is also almost completely uncut, meaning that Reeves had a solid 2-minute shootout scene with no breaks. The result is an incredible non-stop action scene.
Another remarkable action scene in John Wick: Chapter 4 is the Staircase scene. This scene takes place at the Rue Foyatier, a 222-step staircase that leads up to La Basilique du Sacré Cœur de Montmartre, which is a popular tourist attraction. John is tasked with getting up the stairs by sunrise, however, there are more than a dozen assassins blocking his path. After ending the lives of most of these assassins, John makes it to the top of the massive staircase. But the movie shocks us when Chidi (Marko Zaror), a high-ranking agent of the High Table sent by the Marquis De Gramont (Bill Skarsgard), throws John down the stairs. But Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson), a tracker the Marquis also hired to kill John, shows up with his dog to help him. The dog tackles the agent, and Mr Nobody kills him. This shows the mutual respect that he has for John because he saved his dog’s life by risking his own in a previous scene.
This movie is unique from all of the other John Wick movies because it pushes the boundaries of the series while still maintaining the aspects that the fans loved. John Wick: Chapter 4 has not only brought the bar up higher for future John Wick movies but has also secured its spot as one of the best action movies of all time. Not Just John Wick: Chapter 4, but the entire John Wick series is a must–watch for all fans of action and suspense.