What makes a movie the Greatest Action Movie Ever? Is it jaw-dropping fight choreography? Precision-timed stunts? Or a hero so iconic that their very name sends shivers down your spine? With John Wick: Chapter 4, the answer is clear: it’s all of the above.
Keanu Reeves’ return as the relentless assassin, solidifying John Wick as a true action phenomenon. Praised as “a love letter to action cinema” (Empire) and “pure, over-the-top action spectacle” (The Hollywood Reporter), John Wick 4elevates everything fans loved about its predecessors and levels up in every way imaginable. And now, you can experience this cinematic masterpiece of mayhem in all its glory, exclusively on Lionsgate Play.
4 Reasons why Chapter 4 is the G.A.M.E.
The fourth instalment of the John Wick saga isn’t just another sequel – It’s a symphony of cinematic carnage. With its signature blend of inventive set pieces, revenge-thriller vibes and of course, the charming Reeves, John Wick Chapter 4 is hailed as the crowning jewel of the franchise. With a staggering 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s officially the highest-rated installment. Here’s why it is the ‘Greatest Action Movie Ever’.
1. Action that redefines the genre
Every fight sequence is meticulously choreographed – so fluid and precise, it’s like watching a deadly ballet. Director Chad Stahelski, himself a stuntman, frames every movement with an elegance reminiscent of Fred Astaire—if Fred Astaire wielded nunchucks.
2. World-building on steroids
From the neon-clad streets of Osaka to the romantic devastation of Paris, John Wick Chapter 4 expands its universe like never before. The High Table’s shadowy empire grows pulling you deeper into its labyrinth of conspiracies.
3. Keanu Reeves – An unstoppable hero with a zen edge
Critics praise Reeves saying “barrels through the picture with equal parts rampaging force and Zen-like cool” (Los Angeles Times). Reeves is the hero we all want to be: calm, precise, and unbreakable.
4. The late Lance Reddick’s final bow
The late Lance Reddick’s final performance as Charon, the ever-loyal concierge, adds a poignant weight to Chapter 4. His presence is a reminder that, beneath all the gunfire and mayhem, John Wick is ultimately a story about loyalty, honor, and humanity.
A franchise that changed action movies forever
When John Wick hit theaters in 2014, no one could have predicted the impact it would have on American action cinema. What began as a lean revenge story about a man and his dog has evolved into an epic saga blending high-octane stunts with a mythical narrative. Rolling Stone aptly calls it “the most reliable film franchise this side of Mission: Impossible.”
The fourth chapter doesn’t just continue the story, but raises the stakes while bringing out the big guns—literally and figuratively. While Reeves and the late Reddick anchor the film, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, and Laurence Fishburneadd to the film’s firepower. Yen stuns as the formidable Caine, blending deadly precision with sly humor. Skarsgård’s Marquis oozes cold menace, and Fishburne’s Bowery King brings grit and rebellion with his commanding presence.
The cast’s performance, along with the visual flair and over-the-top action, has resulted in an installment that has been described by critics as “more stylish, more elegant and more bonkers” (Associated Press) than its predecessors. Bottom line: it’s a feat of cinematic excess that will leave you breathless.
Dive into the chaos, elegance, and pure adrenaline of John Wick: Chapter 4 as it premieres on Lionsgate Play this March 14.
Set to expound on the world of the immensely popular film franchise ‘John Wick,’ ‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ is a 3-part mini-series that details the origin story of Winston Scott (played by Ian McShane in the films) and Charon (played by Lance Reddick in the movies). Set in the 1970s, it’s a view of the complex underworld of New York torn and broken by the Vietnam war and punctuated by the wild excess of drugs and disco and the rising anger of the anti-establishment as punk finds its voice. Developed for streaming by Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward, and Shawn Simmons, they present New York as if it was a retro dystopian hellhole. Saturated colors give it an old-school feel while every street corner is filled with trash, graffiti, and violence.
This is not the slick and glossy world as presented in the films. This is a dark look into the past and the cast of characters that inhabit here are haunted by their own demons that come crashing down together when the world of the high table is turned upside-down by one robbery in the hotel called The Continental.
The Continental Season 1
Winston Scott (played by Colin Woodell) is a charming, quick on his feet grifter, who finds himself taken by force while on a job in London and brought to New York where his brother, Frankie (Ben Robson) has stolen something of great worth from Cormac, the manager of The Continental. Played by Mel Gibson, Cormac is an arrogant, evil force. He’s manipulative and regards himself highly and while he had taken both Winston and Frankie when they were but orphans living in the street and raised them, he has also raised them to be criminals like he is.
THE CONTINENTAL: FROM THE WORLD OF JOHN WICK — “Night 1” — Pictured: Mel Gibson as Cormac — (Photo by: Katalin Vermes/Starz Entertainment)
Though he’s estranged from his brother, Winston must now find Frankie and try to protect him from the consequences of his actions because Cormac is out for blood. What he stole is not just important to Cormac, it is important to the mysterious High Table as well, the powers that be in the world of John Wick that run the machinations that makes the world move.
What I enjoyed about the three episode mini-series is that ‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ is focused less on the inhabitants of the hotel – the assassins like John Wick – and instead on the people on the fringes of this underworld. Gun runners, cops, war veterans, street urchins, and all other kinds of people in the fringes who are trying to make do in this broken world that’s presented to us.
From martial arts trained brother and sister duo of Miles (Hubert Point-Du Jour) and Lou (Jessica Allain) to the investigator KD (Mishel Prada) and her detective lover (Jeremy Bobb), to Frankie’s dangerous Vietnamese soldier wife, Yen (Nhung Kate) – the world of this series is populated by people who are not as successful as the people of the High Table but just as dangerous.
Each story is of characters finding purpose when everything around them is falling apart and society is not out to make things any easier. They are forced into a life of crime and violence and danger while, in the hotel, there are assassins who are trading the comforts of home in gold coins. Amidst all of this, Winston is out to learn the truth about his family (as do a lot of the other characters in the show) and how everything points to breaking down the establishment that is causing all the trouble in the first place.
THE CONTINENTAL: FROM THE WORLD OF JOHN WICK — “Night 1” — Pictured: Ayomide Adegun as Charon — (Photo by: Katalin Vermes/Starz Entertainment)
‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ is hard-hitting and relentless. Each episode is the length of a movie (anywhere from 88 minutes to 90+ minutes an episode) and it has its share of quiet, introspective moments from the characters as well as very elaborate fight sequences that is befitting of a show that is adapted from the world of the ‘John Wick’ movies. The fights involve guns and martial arts. There are huge explosions as there are graphic displays of violence involving swords and knives and pick axes. Some of these fight scenes last 20 minutes (reminiscent of the final movie in the ‘John Wick’ franchise) but what keeps it from being too self-indulgent is that these epic fight scenes are moving towards the culmination of a specific character arc. They emphasize the grit and determination of these characters to get exactly the revenge they are seeking against Cormac, The Continental, and the world that it represents.
The Continental Season 1
I’m familiar with Woodell from his work in ‘The Originals’ and it’s great to see him oozing with charm and gravitas. He’s a surprisingly strong and solid lead that is carrying this show forward. Holding their own, Prada, Allain, and Point-Du Jour are also quite arresting in their moments making the show quite easy to watch. The difficulty here is seeing Mel Gibson back in full force.
The Continental Season 1
There’s nothing particularly special or interesting in his portrayal of the evil, one-dimensional monster that is Cormac. The writers give him a medley of delicious lines and antics to play with – a religious man who is okay with praying for victory against his opponents as one example – and Gibson throws these lines out without any charm. It’s as if he’s expecting people to hate him and he is leanign into the image that his off-camera persona has become to fuel the role. There is no nuance to this character because it’s exactly what he has been painted in the media to be – aggressive and hostile, angry, misogynistic, and racist. If this portrayal was meant to capitalize on his off-screen persona, it feels manipulative and unsavory. They could have gotten anyone else, and it would have been better. Luckily for Gibson, he gets to perform beside Ayomide Adegun, who plays the younger Charon. Adegun is full of charm and manages to keep his character unpredictable and interesting that he practically steals every scene from Gibson.
The long running time per episode gives each episode a weight and an importance that helps push the show into prestige territory. It feels big even though the whole thing happens in only very few locations. The fight scenes are huge, but the stakes are very personal. The show manages to feel big and be impressive while not really being about anything huge or world changing, and this is a testament to how well done it is. It’s interesting to look at, it makes you wonder why it has made the aesthetic choices that it has – like why depict 70s New York as a world that’s worse than Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City – and keeps the interesting on-going and then it ends before it outstays its welcome.
Other than Gibson, my only real complaint is the excessive use of popular music of the era that creates a wall of noise that can sometimes overpower a scene. I suppose it is to help root the world in that timeline, but I feel that it was done excessively and served as a distraction rather than an amplification.
But other than that, ‘The Continental: From the World of John Wick’ is a worthwhile watch if you’re looking for something violent and tough and just a little bit familiar.
Keanu Reeves returns to the big screen as the legendary Baba Yaga in John Wick: Chapter 4. In the fourth installment of the action movie franchise, John Wick takes his fight against the High Table to new heights as he strives to survive and win his freedom.
Watch the trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4 below:
Before we go see the new John Wick movie, here are a few facts about the movie that you might want to know about:
1. John Wick goes around the world on his mission to take down the High Table.
In the fourth installment of the John Wick franchise, the rogue assassin discovers that the path to defeating the High Table is by challenging its new leader, Marquis de Gramont, in single combat. Wick’s latest mission takes him across the globe, making allies and facing foes in four countries outside America, namely Japan, Jordan, Germany, and France.
Photo: John Wick: Chapter 4 Trailer
2. Donnie Yen and Hiroyuki Sanada are joining the cast.
Making the new film more exciting is the involvement of international action stars Donnie Yen (Ip Man movies) and Hiroyuki Sanada (Bullet Train). Donnie Yen’s character Caine is reportedly an old friend of John Wick’s, but as the trailer may imply, their relationship is quite complex and Caine may be Wick’s most dangerous foe in the new movie. Meanwhile, there aren’t many details about Sanada’s character Shimizu, but the actor might have teased that he’s an ally of John Wick in an interview with CinemaBlend: “I worked with Keanu before on 47 Ronin, almost like 10 years ago. So it was a great reunion, and then we have that kind of history in real life, so we could use that kind of atmosphere or chemistry into the movie. So that kind of relationship is in the movie too. So that’s the biggest hint.”
Photo: John Wick: Chapter 4 Trailer
3. More celebrities to appear in the new John Wick movie.
Aside from Yen and Sanada who are set to play big roles in the film, viewers can also catch more familiar faces in the upcoming movie. Joining the returning cast members Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Ian McShane are stars Bill Skarsgård, known for playing Pennywise in the It movies; Clancy Brown who is known for voicing Mr. Krabs; Wynonna Earp‘s Shamier Anderson; and Japanese-British recording artist Rina Sawayama.
Photo: John Wick: Chapter 4 Trailer
4. It will be the longest John Wick film.
The John Wick movies appeal to fans with their long action sequences that are pure adrenaline fuel, and while the first three films already feel packed with these epic fight scenes, fans can expect that the epic movie will offer more thrilling sequences to viewers as it will have the longest runtime in the franchise.
In an interview with Collider, director Chad Stahelski confirmed that it would be about two and a half hours, adding that they’re pretty confident it would not be too much for the viewers: “Look, I’ve watched this thing now, this version of the cut, close to 100 times, and another 100 by the end of the month at least. And this is the first one that we watch. I don’t get bored at all. It’s my own film. I know it’s weird to say, but I watch it, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m still in the movie.’ It doesn’t take me out. I don’t ever feel like, ‘Just end this thing already. I can’t watch it again.’ You know what I mean? Other than my other misgivings of choices and scenes, and writing all that stuff, I feel pretty good about it. Keanu [Reeves] and I, and the really tight circle that I have around us, we’ve watched, every week. We have a little group. ‘Let’s just watch it one more time to make sure we’re not talking ourselves into something.’”
Photo: John Wick: Chapter 4 Trailer
5. John Wick’s world further expands with upcoming spin-offs.
Aside from the latest installment of the John Wick franchise, his movie universe further expands with two new titles. The first one is The Continental, a prequel series premiering on Peacock, while the other spin-off is the upcoming movie Ballerina. The movie is set between chapters 3 and 4 of the John Wick franchise, and will star Ana de Armas as an assassin who seeks revenge against the people who killed her family.
Photo: No Time to Die Trailer
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John Wick: Chapter 4 is coming to cinemas this Wednesday, March 22, 2023. Book your seats in advance and buy your tickets here.
The official trailer for the upcoming action flick John Wick: Chapter 4 is here!
Keanu Reeves is back in action as the feared assassin John Wick, who has found a way to freedom and must defeat all sorts of enemies from around the globe in his mission to take down the High Table. Watch the trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4 below:
In his latest crusade, John Wick must challenge Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis de Gramont in single combat for him to finally earn his freedom. The trailer also gives us a glimpse of Reeves’ fight scene with Donnie Yen, and of course, John Wick’s brutal scenes as he takes down his enemies with nunchucks, an axe, guns, and more!
Directed by Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter 4 also stars Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, and Ian McShane. It is set for a US release on March 24, 2023.
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