John Wick chapter 4

“ But I have not seen the third one,” My old friend D told me. We were making plans to meet up for the first time in a long time, and I had just revealed the run time of John Wick 4. 2h49m 

“The man that John Wick shoots the bad man, for three hours D” was my reply.

He laughed because of my flippancy. There had to be more. He looks for things, my friend, an experience, mythos, and a story. 

And then we watched John Wick shoot the lousy man for three hours…and loved it.

It’s not that essential, of course. It’s about when he shoots the wrong man. He hits the bad man in the desert, shoots the evil man in Japan, shoots the sinful man in Berlin, and shoots the wicked man in Paris. 

]and when he does not shoot the lousy man in places, he hits the evil man in areas—like the head, the body, the arms, the legs, and of course.

One of the eBay bits

He shoots the evil man in the ass.

It’s all done beautifully and balletically with bullet time and mise en scene.

I had chosen aisle seats as we are men of 40, and the film is over two hours long, and only my loss of an umbrella had me leaving the screen. I found it.

The set dressing and neon vistas of clubs coupled with the widescreen action meant it rarely strayed from its voyeuristic appeal. Some moments seemed more like watching a side-scroller or Tekken game ramped up. And the visuals had a particular Sega ethos. The characters are caricatures. Scott Adkins ‘Killa’ has a round table with John and other characters Tra,cker and Caine at one point. It’s almost like an end-of-level baddie while you choose which character to control.

D described the club scenes as filled with NPCs unbothered about the battle around them.

There are pauses between the fighting to fit in a semblance of character and motivation. Sad dogs, estranged daughters, and flocks of pigeons while shotguns are blasted, and Zatoichi-style bade work ensues. This is familiar; women are even more absent than in previous John films. I saw two of them. 

There was also a hat. The one where John shoots the lousy man for his dog. And the other for his car. Or something.

The comic elements have to be recognised; I understand the suits are bullet resistant, but there are points John becomes Wick E Coyote dropping off everything like a human pinball.

But yes, it’s a spectacle, and you have to buy in. no different to the way of the water or the Martian. I’ll leave the last word to D as the martial artist and action aficionado of the two of us.

“The contact and choreography are perfect and sweeping, it’s kinetic and fraught, and while the big drops are just superheroes, the punches land solidly throughout the intimate fight scenes.”

‘Nuff said.