John Wick: Chapter 4 4K UHD Review
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is more exhausting than entertaining.
In “John Wick: Chapter 4,” the titular hitman wages war on The High Table, but his actions have consequences. Not only does High Table member Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont send an army after Wick (which includes a blind assassin and friend of Wick named Caine), but he as NY The Continental destroyed. And that’s not even the half of it. Also after Wick is a bounty hunter named Mr. Nobody who has a dog pal by his side. Wick’s only way out is to challenge the Marquis to a duel, but the process to do so is not without complications as the Marquis does everything in his power to stop Wick from even attending the duel. Elsewhere in the story are subplots involving a bounty hunter (Mr. Nobody) and his dog pal going after Wick, Winston (the NY Continental Manager) and the Osaka Continental manager (Koji) and his daughter (Akira).
Bigger is not always better and director Chad Stahelski’s “John Wick: Chapter 4” is proof of that. Clocking in at a ridiculously overlong 169 minutes (and it feels longer), the globe-trotting fourth entry in the action franchise feels like a chore at times and that’s not what you want from an action extravaganza. Granted, some action film enthusiasts may be in heaven here, but for me, it felt like a drop-off from the third installment (which remains the gold standard for the series).
There’s certainly no shortage of action here with set pieces involving a car roundabout, a long set of stairs, a club, and a dragon breath shotgun. Aside from the top down shot dragon breath shotgun scene, a lot of the action drags especially the stair sequence that needlessly delays the inevitable climax. The roundabout and club scenes are just flat-out ridiculous as no one seems remotely concerned by the violence surrounding them. Puzzling to say the least. But then again, no one is looking for plausibility in this series which feels more and more like a video game complete with boss fights.
Plot wise, it feels like an overstuffed end tag from part 3 drug out with subplots that aren’t really necessary (see Mr. Nobody). More often than not, writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch merely devise ways to get to the action as soon as possible.
The MVP here is Donnie Yen who steals the entire movie as the Zatoichi esque Caine. Give the man a spin-off movie already. Keanu Reeves seemingly has less character in this movie, but the veteran actor absolutely deserves praise for going all in on making these action sequences come to life. Considering how exhausting they are to watch, there’s no doubt that they were even more exhausting to make. Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick (RIP), Hiroyuki Sanada, and Rina Sawayama also shine in their respective roles.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 2160p. How does it look? This transfer delivers the goods. The colors are particularly vibrant.
Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? thumping music, pulse pounding action. a perfect track
Extras:
* Blu-ray copy
* Digital copy
* 2 theatrical trailers and a first look at the upcoming series “The Continental.”
* “Chad And Keanu: Through Wick And Thin” explores the ongoing partnership between Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski.
* “Train Like A Killer” revolves around fight training and choreography.
* “Making A Killing” covers the visual aspects ala the production design, location shooting and shots.
* “The Psychology Of A Killer” explores the complex mindsets of characters.
* “The Blind Leading The Fight”- A featurette on Donnie Yen and his character.
* “Suit Up/Shoot Up”- A costume/wardrobe centric extra.
* “Packing A Punch”- A look at some of the action sequences.
* “One Killer Shot”- A featurette on the top shot sequence.
* “Killing At The Speed Of Traffic” is all about the car sequence.
* “A Shot In the Dark” focuses on night shoots.
* “In Honor Of The Dead” centers on homages/references to other films and genres.
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