Several years ago, a hitman was thrust back into a life of crime after a privileged thug killed his puppy and made off with his car. A deceptively simple story, but thanks to the indelible charm of Keanu Reeves, the talents of visionary director Chad Stahelski, dozens of beautifully choreographed fight scenes, and imaginative world-building, John Wick has become one hell of a franchise.
While the first film was a pure revenge flick, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 – Parabellum, dealt with the repercussions of Mr. Wick’s re-emergence and retaliation for breaking the rules of this heavily-regulated underworld. In Chapter 4, John has recovered from injuries he suffered from the betrayal of Winston (Ian McShane) while plotting vengeance against The Table, a mysterious syndicate that lives and dies by the codes they construct.
A wanted man with a multi-million bounty on his head, John is in a bit of a precarious situation. The Table is fed up with his shenanigans and places all their formidable power into the hands of Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), a high ranking member of the Order who was given carte blanche power to eliminate the notorious Baba Yaga (John’s nickname). The Marquis brings Wick’s one-time friend Caine (the outstanding Donnie Yen) out of retirement to help “handle” the situation and thanks to the massive bounty, it also attracts the interest of a “tracker” known as Nobody (Shamier Anderson). In an effort to clear his name and leave “the life,” John needs to jump through hoops so he can properly challenge the Marquis.
The world of John Wick is hypnotic, with a complex network of Prada-clad thugs, bejeweled hoodlums, and tatted-up bombshells who keep the underground organization running like a well-oiled machine. Chapter 4 dives a bit deeper into the global network as the series takes us to France, Germany, and Japan.
As Wick turns hundreds of nameless thugs into hamburger meat, the movie manages to pay homage to action pics…
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