John Wick 4, Revenge Saga’s Fiery Conclusion With A Blast

With John Wick 4 the prevalent Keanu Reeves character John Wick returned to the silver screen. The fourth entry of the franchise has us all at the edge of our seats. The fiery conclusion to the Revenge Saga is a sublime experience.

“There are three types of men in this world; those who have something to live for, those who have something to die for and those who have something to kill for. John Wick has none of these things. He is but a Ghost in search of his Graveyard.”

–         Marquis de Gramont

The revenge saga of John Wick that started with the death of his beloved dog concludes with the 4th instalment of the series namely John Wick 4 or John Wick Chapter 4. And it definitely concluded with a fitting end.

The Alluring John Wick Universe

Viggo Tarasov: “That fucking nobody, is John Wick.”

John Wick is a neo-noir Action Thriller Franchise centering around the titular character and his act of vengeance and the consequences of his actions. The character was created by Derek Kolstad and the films were directed by former stuntman Chad Stahelski, who is also a close friend of the actor who portrayed the character, Keanu Reeves.

The story follows John Wick, a retired hitman who recently became a widower. Left with nothing but a puppy from his beloved late wife as a gift, his moment of peace is ruined when a spoiled brat decides to steal his car and kill his dog. Left with nothing to lose, John goes on an act of vengeance against the man that took everything from him, leaving a trail of blood and bodies behind.

Beginning with the release of John Wick in 2014, followed by three sequels in 2017, 2019, and 2023 and with two spin-offs being produced: The Continental: From the World of John Wick in 2023, a limited series produced by NBC’s Peacock and Ballerina in 2024, a spin-off film set between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4 many more sequels and crossovers in the way. The films have been critically acclaimed and earned a collective gross of more than $1 billion worldwide.

John Wick also has a comic series (2017-2019) as well as video games. As a playable character in Payday 2’s John Wick DLC in 2014, an immersive first-person VR game titled, “John Wick Chronicles” in 2017, and a tactical role-playing game developed by Bithell Games and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment titled, “John Wick Hex” in 2019. And to think it all started because someone was against the cruel treatment towards dogs.

John Wick 4, The Conclusion Of Revenge

Shimazu Koji: “Have you given any thought to where this ends?”

With John Wick 4 being the fourth and final film in the franchise to present the titular character, the story follows John Wick as he navigates his way around the world to end the one-man war he has placed upon himself since Chapter 2. John Wick 4 provides the much-needed send-off to our favorite assassin along with a closure. Apart from that, the film has a colorful set of casts, beautiful locations, bloody action and more.

Released on March 6, 2023, in London and March 24, 2023, in the United States, John Wick 4 grossed $432.4 million worldwide. And it would have earned more had it been released in Bangladesh sooner. We had patiently waited till March 24 for it to arrive in Star Cineplex, until June rolled around and many of the fans opted for pirated websites and streaming. But it’s not like the fault solely lies with Star Cineplex as they were a victim of a regional dispute regarding the distribution of the film. And it was not a complete loss either.

But like the story of the Farmer and his Golden Goose, it could have earned more had they not been greedy and released it in proper time. But that’s enough of me crapping on the behind-the-scenes actions. Let’s get to the real actions. Starting with…

Cast And Characters Of John Wick 4

Charon: “It has been an honor, my friend.”

Returning to the role alongside Keanu Reeves as the titular character is Ian McShane as Winston Scott, Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King and Lance Reddick appearing as Charon before the actor’s untimely death. Apart from the returning casts, there are other actors who add different layers to the cake that is the delicacy named John Wick 4.

Bill Skarsgård appears as the Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont, a powerful member of the High Table who has been given the complete freedom to deal with John Wick after he kills the Elder. Taking the concept of Santino D’Antonio, played by Riccardo Scamarcio and taking it up to eleven; he is a man of power and he is not shy to display it. He will use and abuse all the rules in the books to his favor. He is also an arrogant cheat who will try to win by any means necessary.

Alongside Marquis is Mark Zaror as Chidi, second-in-command of the Marquis de Gramont. He is extremely obedient and loyal to the Marquis and will fight and beat his opponents as ruthlessly as possible. And then there’s Scott Adkins in his most unrecognizable role as Killa Harkan, the head of the German Table; whom John has to kill in order to get himself reinstated to the Ruska Roma. The only person on the antagonist’s side that has been neutral so far is Clancy Brown as the Harbinger, a high-ranking operative of the High Table.

Among the allies, there is Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu Koji, the manager of the Osaka Continental Hotel. Rather than just being another manager of a Continental Branch in John’s contact list, Koji brings more to the table (*no pun intended*) as he is an old friend of John. And unlike Winston, even though having a father-son relationship with our protagonist, he will put himself first and “seemingly” betray John in order to save himself. Koji, however, considers John as a friend for whom he is willing to put his life in danger and even die.

And then on the frenemy side, there is Donnie Yen’s Caine, a blind swordsman and an old friend of John; who is employed by the Marquis with his daughter’s life is on leverage. And then there is Shamier Anderson as Mr Nobody, a tracker and someone who has taken up the contract to kill John Wick. Despite sharing John’s love of dogs, he seemingly helps John in order to inflate his bounty. However, a lesson learned from John Wick is that if you love dogs, you’re not an enemy.

Locations And Actions

Bowery King: “How goes the grand farewell tour?”

John Wick: “Coming to an end.”

The John Wick franchise is among the rare franchises in Hollywood that have no bad movies to their name. From 2014 to all the way up to the present, the franchise improves upon itself with each film. It is as if they have a board room meeting to ask themselves, “Okay boys, how can we do better than this?”

Taking the bloody action that was introduced in Chapter 2 and dialing it up to eleven in Chapter 3 – Parabellum; John Wick 4 goes above that and makes them brutal. They also pay homage to the Red Circle scene in John Wick (2014) by recreating the action, alongside the music. And then there’s the fight to the Sacré-Cœur, as John makes his way with the plethora of assassins after him, and his $7 million bounty from Chapter 2 rises to $20 million to $26 million and $40 million in a span of fewer than 30 MINUTES RUNTIME!!!

Action of John Wick 4 also paid homage to video games as well. On his way to Sacré-Cœur, John takes a detour and ends up in a church. What follows is a two-minute worth of scene where John annihilates his opponents while we get an over-the-top view as if we’re watching walkthrough gameplay of a 2D game modeled after John Wick.

And then there are locations of John Wick 4. Where the first film took place within the confines of New York, the second film in Rome, third in Casablanca, with both films returning to New York. John Wick 4 is like, “Hold my brewery,” to all the previous films and goes on a world tour. The film not only takes place in New York but also in Japan, Germany and Paris. It’s as if to prove that they are not holding any punches, they have John literally fight the entire world.

The Legacy It Holds

Caine: “Saying Goodbyes?”

John Wick: “Saying Hello.”

With all the action, violence and scenic locations, I’d say John Wick 4 is worth the money for those who paid to watch the film in Cineplex (even though it was too late). Despite the creator Derek Kolstad not being included in the project, Chad Stahelski made sure the film was not a complete waste of people’s time and gave us what we wanted and took it to newer heights. And as mentioned before, it provided a proper conclusion for our hero, even though it is one that many might not agree on. However, there are some doubts.

John Wick is set to have another sequel titled, “John Wick: Chapter 5,” which was shot back-to-back with John Wick 4 until it was kept on hold. And the project was not canceled either. And apart from the mini-series and the spin-off film, Lionsgate is planning spin-offs centering on Sofia from Chapter 3 (played by Halle Berry of X-Men), Bowery King and Caine vs Akira (Koji’s daughter) with the last one being teased in the post-credit scene of Chapter 4. They are also planning crossovers with Atomic Blonde (2017) and Nobody (2021).

With another sequel for John Wick being confirmed, it is unsure whether Keanu Reeves’ titular character will appear or not in any of the above-mentioned films (except Ballerina, he is confirmed to appear). And the sequel is confirmed to appear sometime after Ballerina’s release. But if you ask my personal opinion, I believe it’s best to end John’s story with John Wick 4. Quoting Winston’s line in the film, “Killing a man can turn him into a martyr. Letting him live can tell the world he is a coward or a turncoat.”

NGL, John got a well-deserved ending in John Wick 4 and one that not many characters of his stature receive. And we’ve seen what happens when a Franchise goes too high, they either lose their footing or suffer through an identity crisis. But since John Wick managed to break all expectations and stay relevant and successful even now, I’ll quote another line from John Wick, “Be Seeing You, John.” And finally, do check out my review of Tokyo Revengers Season 2.