Half of this review will be me gushing about the action. Wow. Just wow. I was in complete awe. There were multiple times I was both tearing up and laughing at how unbelievably amazing the fight scenes are. Now this is nothing new for the John Wick series. But for me, this is far and away the best action of the entire series.

I'm an action junkie and am repeatedly disappointed with action movies and their terrible fight scenes, filled with shaky cam, quick cuts and close-up shots (looking at you Snake Eyes and Mortal Kombat). Then I watch a John Wick movie and feel so spoiled, while also being baffled at why other action movies can't learn from this. The fights are so fast-paced yet completely clear and easy to follow.

There is every kind of fighting imaginable. So many weapons, styles, chases, vehicles, animals, everything. So much creativity with the kills. Amazing combinations of weaponry and fighting styles (pistol/sword combo is my fave).

The music is awesome as usual, maybe even a step up. It enhances every action scene. The cinematography is pristine. So many beautiful shots, so many mesmerizing locations for the action. It is stylistically beautiful.

There are a couple of scenes that are shot in such a creative way that I've never seen before. One is an overhead shot one-take that I couldn't believe. It takes the movie to a new level. So many scenes feel like they're a video game brought to life. Numerous times it feels like the VR game Pistol Whip.

Donnie Yen is awesome. End of paragraph.

About an hour into this nearly 3-hour movie, I felt like I experienced enough action amazingness for an entire movie. I was in a state of ecstasy. Not only was this looking like the best of the series, I started wondering if this would be a landmark action flick. Maybe it's my own fault for setting expectations so high mid-movie, but the second half is more flawed, though still awesome.

The subplot with the tracker doesn't seem at all consequential. And his dog attacks were already done, and better, with Halle Berry in Parabellum. A few of the issues I had with Parabellum pop up again, like overdoing it sometimes with the damage he takes. For example, instead of getting hit by one car, he gets hit by three cars. And that's a mild example. Also, it's fairly anticlimactic.

Even with those flaws, I had a BLAST with this movie and will definitely see it at least once more in theaters. Seeing it on a premium screen is a must. Loudest speakers, biggest screen. TRUST ME.

EDIT: I was itching to go again since opening night. I wasn't able to wait more than 5 days. On second viewing, I still felt the same flaws, but I didn't care. The action is incredible. It has at least four* of my all-time favorite action scenes. I want to watch these scenes a hundred times.

It's definitely not perfect, but I still consider it an action landmark (last time I said that was Mad Max: Fury Road). Every other action movie should learn from this. Updating rating from 8 to 9 stars.

(4 viewings, opening Thursday UltraScreen 3/23/2023, UltraScreen 3/28/2023, SuperScreen 4/10/2023, re-issue IMAX 5/2/2023)

Ever since the original John Wick, the franchise has set a standard of what action in Hollywood should be. Thanks to Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeve's knowledge of the technical aspects of shooting action, they've been able to deliver expertly choreographed, shot, and edited action films that are now the go to as examples of great action filmmaking. And so, the expectations for the fourth film were fairly high, especially as it became more apparent this was not only the culmination of everything before it, but a whopping 169 minutes long. Rest assured, however, that it delivers in spades. Everything we have come to know and love is here, but with an infusion of creativity like we haven't seen from the franchise yet.

John Wick is in a bad way as we open up. He's a man on a mission to get out from under the High Table with seemingly no end in sight. As he blazes a trail of bullets and corpses, those who have helped him or crossed his path find their own lives disrupted. With all hope lost, he soon finds the opportunity he's looking for when he discovers that he can put his life on the line for a chance to finally get out. The film brings with it a whole host of new characters, including Donnie Yen's Caine, Shamier Anderson's Tracker, Hiroyuki Senada's Shimazu, Rina Sawayama's (in a fantastic big screen debut) Akira, Scott Adkins' Killa, and of course Bill Skarsgard as new villain Marquis. It's a full cast, but everyone gets a chance to shine and could easily have their own films. Donnie Yen in particular demonstrates, once again, that he is a legend in this industry with several great fights of his own. But, of course, this is Keanu's film all the way and he gets to bring everything with him in the biggest film yet.

Covering four continents, we get fights on a massive set of stairs, fights in the middle of traffic, at one of the coolest looking hotels ever shown on screen, and so on. The fighting, of course, is exceptional, and it brings nunchakus, dogs, throwing stars, swords, guns, and so much more. It's everything a John Wick fan could want and, because these films are so technically proficient, you never feel like you're missing any of the action. Possibly the most creative choice is my favorite scene, one that combines a visually fantastic weapon with a shot choice that is unusual for action films of this nature, but the combination of these two pushes the scene into maybe one of action film's greatest scenes.

Admittedly, the story does leave a bit to be desired, but the minor complaints about these kinds of things pale in comparison to what we get. Hollywood has a new film to hold itself to and I have a feeling that (at least for me) action filmmaking will be judged by the standard this movie sets. It's such a blast, I already want to see it again.

By now you know what to expect from a John Wick movie. I thought the franchise was losing a little momentum in chapter 3 so I was worried this could be disappointing. It's not. It's even more on steroids than any Wick before! Even close to 3 hours it doesn't feel to long which is very special for a action movie. This franchise has set new standards. If anybody says a movie is good like John Wick, it better f'n be! The set pieces as everyone mentioned before are really insane this time. The Tokyo sceney with illuminated cherry blossoms was beautiful. The only super illogical thing that bothered me was that nobody flinched at the nightclub, eventually they did but after a whole 10 minute beatdown through the whole club, but then again it's a shady nightclub for high table people. If you liked the first three movies, get your ass to the cinema. Yeah.