This is where the original premise ran its course and the story could start to get a little silly. Remember Superman confronting Nuclear Man, Jaws developing human emotions, and Indiana Jones mining aliens? Fortunately, this is the fourth sequel to wear its silliness as a badge of honor.
“Let’s get this over with,” Donnie Yen’s killer sighs as the body count approaches four.
While the 169-minute running time is clearly preposterous, the plot is quite simple. The indestructible killer Keanu Reeves still carries a price on his head.
To take him down, he embarks on a scavenger hunt around crime boss Bill Skarsgård while battling rival killers in tourist hotspots.
By the time we get to the sunrise showdown, Reeves has transformed into Buster Keaton. After battling dozens of goons in the 222 steps to Sacré-Coeur in Paris, we watch it slowly sink to the bottom.
If you’ve had enough of Reeves’ “gun-fu” skills, this is the moment when the self-conscious Chapter Four will hit your fuse.
I found the movie very long but amazingly engaging. Highlights include an Osaka ballet fight sequence featuring the great Hiroyuki Sanada, a ridiculous fight in a Berlin nightclub with Scott Adkins, and a violent match over the arcade game Frogger at the Arc de Triomphe roundabout.
Director Chad Stahelski’s original idea hasn’t lost any of its steam. Instead of covering up a Hollywood star’s limited fighting skills with shaky cameras and quick edits, he uses wide shots and long shots, letting the audience enjoy the worn agility of the world’s greatest martial arts stars.
Keanu is definitely on that level and Part 4 features some of Wick’s most exciting encounters.
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