The nearly three-hour fairy tale of firearms that is “John Wick: Chapter 4” is a sprawling, Shakespearean orgy of violence, a salute to stunt choreographers, and a return to the original film’s roots — at the heart of the matter, it is the fundamentally the story of a duel, and a dog.
For four bloody installments, Keanu Reeves has played the sorrowful, taciturn assassin John Wick, directed by his former stunt double Chad Stahelski, who has proven to be quite the cinematic stylist. Together, these two have offered up a completely unique blockbuster action franchise, one that dares to be somber, centering the doleful Reeves as the grieving John Wick. It also dares to embrace bold aesthetics — color, style, production design and location shooting — which feels downright revolutionary in the age of endless greenscreen and computer-generated landscapes.
These films are long on style, but narrative complexity is not on the menu here — the “John Wick” films are merely conduits for long dream ballets of stunning fight choreography set amongst richly production-designed scenery. Reeves seems aware that he is merely a vessel for violence here, and though the script, by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, is laden with lore surrounding the Continental Hotel for assassins (gamely delivered by Clancy Brown), feel free to simply let it wash over you.
