How John Wick 4 became the G.A.M.E. (‘greatest action movie ever made’)

“It wasn’t just a puppy,” John Wick said emotionally in the first John Wick movie (2014). Who knew that the death of a beagle named Daisy, given to him as the last gift of his late wife Helen, would set off a chain of events that would lead Keanu Reeves into a second billion-dollar movie franchise in his career?

Now airing locally on Lionsgate Play, which can be availed through a PLDT Home plan, John Wick: Chapter 4 is the culmination of the movie series and wraps up the titular character’s journey as he fights for his freedom from his previous life as an assassin.

Keanu Reeves captures the loss and fury of a man who avenges his dog and stolen car in the first John Wick movie, starting the cinema legend of baba yaga—or as the Russian mob boss Viggo Tarasov says, “John Wick isn’t exactly the Boogeyman. He is the one you send to kill the Boogeyman.”

In John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), he becomes the target as he has broken the rules governing the assassin order. In John Wick: Chapter 3— Parabellum (2019), the excommunicated assassin continues to fight against the High Table’s enforcers.

And so, here we are at John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), where Wick takes the battle to the global High Table.

Keeping in mind that there have been several phenomenal action franchises before—starring Reeves himself, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Christian Bale—the question is: Is John Wick 4 the greatest action movie ever made?

It probably is—and here’s why.

(Warning: Spoilers ahead)

‘John Wick 4’ by the numbers

The fourth installment is the longest (three hours) and most action-packed in the franchise (14 action sequences). The final battle lasts 35 minutes, one of the longest ever filmed, with the final action sequence set in Paris. Wick hits the highest kill count in the series at 380, fighting more enemies in the fourth movie with a total of 1,500+ across the entire franchise.

Reeves had 100+ stunt men who were thrown off buildings, hit by cars, stabbed, and set on fire.However, the actor also did many stunts, having trained for 12 weeks to master nunchaku, judo, and kali sticks.

“It’s the hardest film I’ve ever made,” Reeves said, adding that the Sacre-Coeur stair sequence, where Wick falls 222 steps, is one of the most brutal scenes he’s filmed.

John Wick 4 is also the highest-rated John Wick movie on Rotten Tomatoes, scoring 94%. 

An emotional end

From the first movie, we get to know John as a man of few words with abundant emotions (and gun power). We see his grief, anger, drive for vengeance, and the acceptance of his fate on the steps of Paris’ Sacre Coeur.

In John Wick 4, he fights for his freedom and revenge against the High Table, the powerful organization that governs the assassins, through five countries. His main enemy in this franchise finale is Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), a ruthless enforcer who gains unlimited power to hunt him.

The Marquis destroys the New York Continental, and John seeks refuge in the Osaka Continental, run by his old friend Shimazu Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada), who is later killed. Finally, in Paris, Wick kills the Marquis, but he also collapses on the steps of Sacre Couer and dies.

As a man who has escaped thousands of assassins, is John Wick dead, or did he fake his death? The film ends with his old friend Winston at Wick’s grave.

Director Chad Stahelski, who directed all four John Wick movies, said of the fourth movie, “I didn't do it to end a franchise.” Divided between wanting a fifth John Wick installment and being satisfied with the ending of his saga, fans have taken this statement as hope that the rather ambiguous ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 leaves the door open for another movie.

However, Keanu Reeves has shot down rumors that John Wick will be resurrected despite Hollywood’s penchant for bringing back a character from the dead. When asked directly in an interview if he would do another John Wick movie, he said, “You know, the character is dead.” 

Stream John Wick 4 and more unlimited entertainment at home with Lionsgate Play. Subscribe to the app through your PLDT Home for only P79/month. For more information, visit pldthome.com/lionsgateplay.

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Editor’s Note: This article was provided by PLDT Home.