John Wick: Chapter 4

"The moment you sat down at my table, you already lost." Spoiler WarningThe John Wick Saga has been based around the High Table, the asssassin organization that has its tendrils entertwined into every single aspect of life for John Wick. He was trained by The Table and brought up as a god of death under The Table, an unstoppable harbinger of execution. All he knew was death, and The Table had full control over him. Wick bent to their will, taking out any target with swift and brutal precision.  Until Helen.  The Babayaga found hope, peace and purpose in his wife, despite growing up as a weapon under the Table. Before Helen, Wick’s family was the Table. That was no longer the case. John wanted out of the Table. Given a hideous mission, Wick completes it and earns his way out of control of the Table.  Until.. John’s family was wiped out. His wife succumbed to an illness, and the last gift she ever gave him, a puppy, was killed by the cruelty of a mobster’s son. A mobster connected to the High Table.  I tell you all of this, in order to accentuate the quote above. The moment that John sat at the High Table, he was damned. There would be no escape from the endless reach of the Table, regardless of how many gold coins the Babayaga collected.  This movie is the death throes of John Wick’s 3 movie battle against the High Table. The first film, of course, mainly focused on Wick’s campaign of revenge.  This movie is exquisite in every conceivable metric. It is shot brilliantly. The action is impeccable. The score soars. The story that runs underneath endless scenes of brutality is surprisingly dense, which gives credence to its hefty runtime. Keanu Reeves was made for this role. The short comments followed by refined violence have made John Wick a household name. This movie also has no business being as funny as it is, mostly due to the purely absurd nature of some of the action scenes.  The only real complaint I can see people having is the side quest John goes on in order to get back into his “family”. This movie gripped me and is instantly an all-time favorite. If you claim to like action movies, this will be a movie that stays with you, if for nothing else, a fitting goodbye to one of the most unexpected phenoms in the genre. This movie is everything that is great about movies. Over the top, heartfelt, violent, funny, and gripping.  John Wick Chapter 4 is an achievement of storytelling, action, and drama. I do not trust anyone who does not like JW4.  “It has been an honor, my friend”