John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Tools    





Welcome to the human race...
Couldn't disagree more.

Part 1 is fun because it is winking at us. It pokes fun at the generic revenge premise (they killed... ...his puppy!). It introduces Wick as a hyperbolically badass badass. The gold coins are reminiscent of Nintendo video games and pirates. Being at the Continental is like being "on base" in a child's schoolyard game.

World-building is simply a matter of creating a sense of depth, not writing the mother****ing Silmarillion to fill in every possible footnote of a world. We never needed to know about midichlorians, trade wars, or the creation of C-3P0 and we never needed to learn about the High Table, tatted-up hooker phone operators, "having a ticket," or adjudicators. We only needed to sense that Wick was the BABA YAGA and that he emerged from a murky and dangerous underworld.

Wick has become increasingly maudlin and ridiculous with each installment. I don't care what fabric your suit is made of,
WARNING: "Is it really a spoiler when it's this predictable?" spoilers below
after you're been shot 100 times before climbing up the world's tallest flight of stairs which you had to fall down twice, you're already dead before you get to your dueling contest.
"Incapacitato" as they might say in this increasingly stupid world. For all the random nonsense inserted into these film (the elder! the mint! the sommelier! scumbags wearing liturgical vestments, the holy tickle pickle of the high table!), actual physics, biomechanics, and internal organs (and bones, apparently) have been removed from the proceedings. Where there is no reality, there are no stakes and the sequels exchange reality for bigger and dumber at a rate that must be comparable to the rate at which the "token-master" of The Continental must be exchanging all those ornate gold coins.

And saying that anything is better than the sequels to Taken is like saying that its "better than a sharp stick in the eye."
Yeah, but it still takes that relatively seriously as a motivation despite other characters questioning it (see also Point Blank where Lee Marvin goes on a roaring rampage of revenge over an amount of money that everyone considers too low to warrant this level of retribution). Besides, adding that depth to the world adds depth to him as a character - there is meant to be a disconnect between his reputation as "Baba Yaga" and him just being an above-average hitman so the inclusion of "markers" in the second film is justified in showing his shortcomings that lead him to make a Faustian pact and cause his own downfall. When the film is clearly going for a heightened reality with more on its mind than just the matter of whether the main character can die, I don't see why I shouldn't accept that reality provided it comes up with sufficient reasons to stay invested.
__________________
I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
After sitting with this for a while and listening to Stahleski speak about it, it’s just too much. There is a law of diminishing returns that sets in real quick. How many times do you need to see 100 guys dispatched at once?

There is the technical side of this, which is amazing. The stuff they went through, the planning that Stahleski employs; it’s is all very admirable. That said, it reminds me of Joe Satriani. Yeah, he shreds. It’s just too much at one point and smothers the entire project.

The world building stuff is cool, but it’s to the point where they are gonna write themselves out the corner when they need to. Mr. Nobody? Take him out and how does the film suffer?

The film is good. Nothing bad, just short on the fun that made the first one so great.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
The dog in the final scene? We all see that? Was that Wick’s dog from the previous films?



NOTE: You liked it. That's great. I think it was redundant, ridiculous, and overlong. I am not trying to talk you out of liking it, but merely sharing where it was all rather "meh" for me.

Corax missed the wink from John Wick 4.
I see the wink. The wink wore out it's welcome. John Wick is now like that SNL skit that tries to stretch out a 20 second premise for 5 minutes of airtime. It's cute for the first film, kind of like how Scream is a cute postmodern deconstruction the first time around.



Also, the other side of the wink has to be engaging "surface level" action that allows you to invest, at least in the moment, in the events around you. Wick 4 is so much bigger, faster, and dumber that it's impossible to gauge the stakes, possibilities, the true nature threats.

It’s better than 3, not as good as the first two, but a fitting end (?).
You know what had a fitting end? Part 1. Part 1 had a fitting end.
Despite all of the issues Carax has pointed out, and yes, he is correct in it….who the **** cares? It’s a fun film regardless that clearly doesn’t take itself that seriously.
But is it fun? The experience I had here was similar to that of the Matrix sequels--the experience of being fatigued by overlong action sequences.

As for the world building? Yes, it is necessary as it gives us a deeper look into the world Wick lived and operates in.
I have a ticket? Can I get my ticket mended? No? How about an adjudicator? No. OK, how about we just rip off The Warriors in the last act and have the omnipresent DJ spin wax on the "bad guys" radio station (WKRAP)? Peeling back the surface of Wick's wacky world of wild warmongers is ever more surface. More hollow metaphors and symbols. More speechifying about rules of the game and ad hoc additions to set up the next action sequence.
It’s ridiculous film that manages to be entertaining regardless of (in spite of) its issues, some things you just accept on good faith. Reeves being shot a million times in his bullet proof suit and surviving falls that normally would kill a normal man is one of those things. You just can’t help but shrug and just enjoy the ride. Just be sure to look for the wink.
Different strokes. It was all just a bit too much for me. If you dug it, that's cool.



That said, it reminds me of Joe Satriani. Yeah, he shreds. It’s just too much at one point and smothers the entire project.

Nice analogy.


I think this is a serious flaw in the modern action movie.



I think it was redundant, ridiculous, and overlong…

Also, the other side of the wink has to be engaging "surface level" action that allows you to invest, at least in the moment, in the events around you. Wick 4 is so much bigger, faster, and dumber that it's impossible to gauge the stakes, possibilities, the true nature threats.

I have a ticket? Can I get my ticket mended? No? How about an adjudicator? No. OK, how about we just rip off The Warriors in the last act and have the omnipresent DJ spin wax on the "bad guys" radio station (WKRAP)? Peeling back the surface of Wick's wacky world of wild warmongers is ever more surface. More hollow metaphors and symbols. More speechifying about rules of the game and ad hoc additions to set up the next action sequence.
That’s largely the side I’ve come down on, having now seen it. The fights were fine, just fine, but the duel was maybe a bit underwhelming (just like the whole offering, I suppose).



BKB
Registered User
This movie is nothing short of Fantastic, if a little long on the run time, but it ended PERFECTLY with actual Closure, only to have WB or Paramount just have to do a 5th installment now and I don't agree with that.. John's at Peace the way it ended and you can only kill hundreds of people before your luck runs out, in this case, a blind man gets ya..



BKB
Registered User
This comes out on Blu-Ray/DVD next week and a worthy edition to the other 3.. I still wish Paramount would leave well enough alone and not make a 5th installment because the 4th ended Beautifully with actual closure.. When you've murdered a total of 439 People between 4 movies according to statistics, eventually, your luck runs out



BKB
Registered User
Today is Tuesday and today is the Day JOHN WICK 4 comes out on Blu-Ray, so let us all rejoice and for those who never got around to see this?? It's awesome, if a little long on the running time, but puts closure on the franchise until Paramount of WB do the unthinkable and try to rationalize a 5th installment..