Someone online (I can’t remember who) recently called JOHN
WICK 4 (2023) the Citizen Kane of action movies and that is a fine way of describing
it. We’ll discover over the next few decades if this film stands the test of
time to function as a reference point for its genre but it certainly is trying to
be the best version of this kind of film that it can be. It helps that the
strange hidden world of crime families and code restricted crime syndicates
that has unfolded over the three sequels has become fascinating enough to beg
for further exploration. But whether this film will be lumped in with the
current vouge of larger-than-life comic book adventures or be seen as something
apart from them will be interesting to note. I’m not sure the easy acceptance
of the ever-expanding Wick-i-verse would have been possible without the years
long MCU series that built to a crescendo in the last Avengers film. Action
film fans have usually resisted incorporating more fantastical elements in their
preferred R rated entertainment but maybe the slow introduction of those
details over the first and second sequel allowed the writers to bypass the stereotypical
reluctance to roll with the crazy. Of course, the Fast & Furious films have
been destroying the rules of the physical universe for a decade and a half at
this point so maybe it was more than just the superhero phenomenon that
contributed to John Wick finding a wide audience without losing the hardcore
action fanbase.
This fourth film works very well as a kind of uber action film
blending a straightforward scenario with multiple oddball characters who provide
hurdles that Wick has to overcome to reach his goal. The new characters have
distinct roles in the narrative that allow for both a well-rounded standalone
tale in this one film but that also serve to allow a capstone to the entire
quartet of films. The viewer is never in doubt about motives or goals but
methods and outcomes are often in question. The series continues to be
wonderfully directed serving as an excellent example of how action cinema can also
be cinema art. Beautiful to the eye and jarring to the sensibilities JOHN WICK
4 is almost its own argument against a fifth instalment chronicling Wick’s
life. What could top this film’s elegantly staged violence? What could push
beyond the story’s perfect dovetailing of loss, vengeance, love and hope? How
better could the iron will of a man on a righteous mission be demonstrated? And
how much more satisfying a tale could be told using these elements? If it is possible,
I hope I’m there to see it. But for now, this film can stand as one of the best
versions of this kind of movie. Let future filmmakers take their notes.
The List
THE
BOXER FROM SHANTUNG (1972) – 7 (Shaw Brothers historical action)
DEATH
SPA (1989) – 6
INQUISITION
(1976) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)
JOHN
WICK CHAPTER 4 (2023) – 8
THE
WITCHES MOUNTAIN (1973) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)
STAR
TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)
MURDER
BY CONTRACT (1958) – 8 (Vince Edwards as a smart contract killer)
ENDGAME
(1983) – 6
BEGINNING
OF THE END (1957) – 5 (rewatch – second half falls down)
COSMIC
MONSTERS (1958) – 4 (rewatch – still too dull)
THE
DEADLY MANTIS (1957) – 6 (rewatch – pretty effective)
THE
BLACK SCORPION (1957) – 7 (rewatch – solid)
MONSTER
FROM GREEN HELL (1957) – 3 (rewatch – pretty terrible)
TARANTULA!
(1955) – 7 (rewatch)
EARTH
VS THE SPIDER (1958) – 5 (rewatch)
THEM!
(1954) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)
CODE
OF THE SECRET SERVICE (1939) – 5 (OK crime film with Ronald Reagan)
CHINA
PASSAGE (1937) – 5 (interesting murder/diamond theft mystery)
EVIL
DEAD RISE (2023) – 8
SPACE
AMOEBA (1970) – 7 (non-Big G Toho monster epic)
