Weekend Watch - John Wick: Chapter 4
If you have loved the ride of the previous films in the saga, John Wick: Chapter 4 brings it all together for one last hurrah, sending the assassin off with its most weighty action sequences and plenty of closing thoughts on its world and story themes.
Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week’s topic, as voted by the blog’s Instagram followers is John Wick: Chapter 4, the latest (and final?) chapter of the Keanu Reeves action saga about the hidden world of assassins and intrigue run by the mysterious High Table. This film features the return of Reeves in the titular role as well as Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, and Ian McShane reprising their roles from the previous films. Joining the cast in this iteration are Clancy Brown, Marko Zaror, Bill Skarsgård, Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, and Rina Sawayama to round out the action film’s ensemble of players. The film currently sits as the best reviewed of the franchise, so let’s get into it.
Letter Grade: A-; the film delivers everything we’ve come to expect from the John Wick franchise and then some with very little to gripe about.
Should you Watch This Film? Yes, but only if you’ve watched the previous three or at least read detailed synopses of them, otherwise most of the film’s stakes and references will make little to no sense.
Why?
John Wick: Chapter 4 is the culmination of the story and violence of the three previous films. Picking up a short amount of time after Chapter 3, this one again hits the ground running but this time with John as the pursuer rather than the pursued. This film unfolds differently than its predecessors because of this shift, focusing on the High Table’s response to John’s aggression against them, resulting in more time to breathe between set pieces but also more character development and exploration of the saga’s central themes of revenge and cyclical violence. Obviously, the action remains the highlight, but the characters are given space to live and die here as well.
Chapter 4 might be the best of the John Wick franchise because of how it brings closure to the story of the first three. From the simple revenge tale of the first to the frustration at being drawn back into a life of violence of the second to the repercussions of his actions from the second in the third, everything is brought home in Chapter 4. John’s desire for freedom from his past life, his vendetta against the High Table, the political machinations of the Bowery King and Winston – all of them are brought to a close in one way or another in this chapter. The world gets a bit more fleshed out but only as far as it needs to in order to understand how John can possibly attain his goal of escape. The true highlight of the film is John’s attempt to answer whether he can have a life outside of the killing – the question at the heart of every John Wick film. In this case, he seems to have decided that one final push of killing anyone in his way just might give him the opportunity to answer that question satisfactorily (a fascinating and tragic contradiction). Unfortunately, his decision to untether himself from specifically motivated vengeance leaves him on a fairly destructive and self-destructive path that he can only be wrested back from through human (and animal) connections. The story reminds us of our need for others in life, particularly in the hard times, to keep us from devolving into something worse – a plea for society, yes, but specifically good and supportive society as opposed to the toxic and parasitic one that John is seeking to break from.
The action remains fairly creative in this one, with a few more faceless henchmen in the first few sequences than I’d usually care for, but that error is quickly alleviated with a solid heavy fight in the middle of things and a high-octane final sequence that ends with a brilliant bit of simple one-on-one combat, which might be my favorite of the series on gravity alone. Overall, I’m still inclined to give Chapter 2 the props for best top-to-bottom action, but the implications present in every scene of violence in Chapter 4 definitely help it make up a lot of ground. I should also point out that Donnie Yen is the best addition to the John Wick cast, and I don’t totally understand why it took so long to get him here. His scenes are arguably better than Keanu Reeves’s for most of the film, but it really peaks when the two of them are facing off or working together (it alternates from scene to scene).
If you have loved the ride of the previous films in the saga, John Wick: Chapter 4 brings it all together for one last hurrah, sending the assassin off with its most weighty action sequences and plenty of closing thoughts on its world and story themes. In terms of pure action, it might not be the top one of the saga, but it carries plenty of energy to keep its fans happy. This film is currently available to see in theaters, and I encourage you to check it out if you can.
Weekend Watch - Barbarian
The fun originality of Barbarian’s disjointed story pairs with some solid acting from its leads to create one of the biggest surprise hits of the year.
Welcome back to the Weekend Watch, where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a review and recommendation. This week’s topic is the surprise hit horror film that dropped last weekend, Barbarian, starring Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long. The film is about two people who have unintentionally double-booked an Airbnb and then discover some surprising secrets in the house’s basement. Since its release, it has taken critics and audiences by storm, surprising most viewers with a remarkably original story and take on the genre. Let’s get into it.
Letter Grade: B+; the film’s originality and willingness to bend the mold doesn’t mean that it has fully broken out of some of the more predictable tropes of horror films.
Should you Watch This Film? If you are looking for a new horror film as spooky season approaches, this is one of the better ones out right now for sure.
Why?
Like most fans and critics have already said, Barbarian succeeds at holding its audience’s attention with some of the most surprising twists and turns in recent horror history, creating a refreshingly original experience in the process. What starts out as a fairly straightforward stranger danger horror flick soon morphs into something much more interesting than that initial premise. The film’s blend of suburban horror and social satire comes through in a way that never feels derivative of anything else. The biggest issue most people will have watching this film will be with some of the wild choices made by the film’s protagonists, which is true of most horror films, but which also works to set up some of the better parts of the film, including its quick and stressful climax. For horror acting, the leads – Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long – overdeliver in their performances, doing work that is rarely surpassed within the genre, at least in films with comparable budgets. Campbell’s idealistic Tess makes a solid “final girl” that the audience can easily root for even through her many questionable decisions. Skarsgård’s enigmatic Keith works well in the role marked out for him, walking the line between dangerous villain or lovable sidekick as the audience gets to know him (his past role as Pennywise in the It films probably lent a lot to his character’s ambiguity as well, solid casting choice). Long’s problematic and troubled AJ serves as a great foil for Tess and solid comedic relief when needed as well. Honestly, each of them delivers perfectly on what the script asks of them, and it’s a very impressive outing from the trio. The fun originality of Barbarian’s disjointed story pairs with some solid acting from its leads to create one of the biggest surprise hits of the year. Check it out in theaters if you get the opportunity.