Starring Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, and Ian McShane

Directed by Chad Stahelski

Lionsgate, out now, 4K, Blu-ray, DVD and digital

 

John Wick uncovers a path to defeating The High Table, but must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe.

Move aside, Mrs Harris, this time Mr Wick goes to Paris… and Osaka… and Berlin. In fact, there’s a lot of globetrotting in Chad Stahelski’s action fantasy drama, as well as a lot of killing.

It was back in 2014 that we first met Keanu Reeves’ former hitman who came out of retirement to avenge his dead dog and stolen car. In each subsequent sequel the stakes have gotten higher and the action sequences upped in complexity. And as this fourth instalment shows, there’s no lack in creativity in the stunning set-pieces.

Keanu has little dialogue, mainly leaving the quips to Ian McShane’s Winston, who starts the film losing his beloved hotel, The Continental. This is retribution for helping the excommunicado Wicks, who is forever on the run with a sizeable bounty on his head. Those on his tail include Donny Yen’s Caine and Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis. One colourful character is Scott Adkins in remarkable padding as Killa, a combination of Kingpin and a villain from Dick Tracy.

Everything in this movie is dialled up to 11. Hundreds of people die, and yet it’s done in such an over-the-top comic book style that the extreme violence becomes palatably ludicrous. People walk away from what should be fatal falls, and survive being hit by cars or thrown out of a window. You’ll wince and grimace as assassins brush themselves down after Road Runner-style accidents. But that’s the charm – the sheer kinetic ridiculousness of it all versus the awe of how stuntman survived these feats.

The movie looks gorgeous in the 4K home edition – some of the establishing shots almost look like oil paintings – with the Dolby Atmos mix really adding depth. There’s a lot of extras but nearly all are very short – a little bit of bundling by subject might have helped – but most are well worth a one-off view.

Verdict: Ridiculously over-the-top, technically amazing and relentless. You’ll be checking yourself for bruises or cracked ribs on the way out. 8/10 

Nick Joy and Paul Simpson