John Wick Films Ranked After John Wick: Chapter 4

After 4 lengthy years of ready, John Wick: Chapter 4 is upon us.

I recall the primary time I noticed the unique John Wick trailer in 2014. I didn’t suppose a lot of it forward of time. Keanu Reeves hadn’t executed a lot value getting enthusiastic about for a while until you dug The Lake Home, The Day the Earth Stood Nonetheless, or 47 Ronin. Now he’s starring in a movie a couple of man getting revenge for his lifeless canine?

Because it seems, John Wick was superior. So superior, we acquired three sequels with extra on the way in which, together with a Ballerina spinoff with Ana de Armas, and a TV collection that includes Mel Gibson. We’ve additionally loved/endured hoards of copycats resembling Atomic Blonde, No person, and Gunpowder Milkshake — all good, thoughts you, simply not John Wick good.

Actually, I’d rank John Wick up there with a few of the basic heroes. However how would I rank his movies? Seeing how Chapter 4 is now enjoying in theaters, now appears nearly as good a time as any to seek out out how the John Wick films ranked from worst to greatest.

4. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)

There’s no such factor as a nasty John Wick movie — but! Nonetheless, our third blood-soaked journey with the “Baba Yaga” doesn’t hit the identical easy beats as its predecessors regardless of a set of unbelievable sequences that stand as the perfect within the collection. 

Selecting up the place Chapter 2 left off, Parabellum will get cooking out of the gate and produces as kick-ass a knife struggle as I’ve ever seen. It’s ugly, violent, and undeniably superior, capped by John casually tossing an axe right into a dying man’s cranium.

Sadly, endurance is required to tolerate the following 30-45 minutes as John takes an extended detour to regain his place beneath the Excessive Desk. He meets up with Halle Berry for a spell, kills a number of hundred faceless dudes in a enjoyable albeit overblown sequence, then heads out to the desert with that man from Surprise Lady.

We’re diving deep into Continental lore right here, people, a facet of the franchise I’ve by no means grown keen on. Like, I get it. There’s a world of assassins who obey guidelines, yada yada yada … I feel Chapter 3 tries to get too cute with the formulation and stumbles in its makes an attempt so as to add significance to John’s quest. Fortunately, as soon as our boy dons a brand new go well with and will get again to the States, Parabellum lastly presents followers extra of what they need, together with a depraved shootout throughout the Continental, a collection of wonderful brawls, and a surprising ending that units the stage for the following chapter. 

Finally, there’s a lot to love in Chapter 3; you simply must wade via a bit little bit of muck to achieve the great things.

3. John Wick (2014)

At first look, John Wick tells the story of a damaged man avenging the demise of his canine. Perhaps that’s all anybody concerned ever supposed it to be. I’ve all the time appeared a bit deeper into this wildly entertaining, violent spectacle and located the story of a person caught between Heaven (his spouse) and Hell (his previous life). John takes the primary alternative to fall again into his outdated habits. Did he care in regards to the canine? Certain. However John longed to return to his roots. Killing is his factor, and regardless of his proclamations of peace, he jumps at each likelihood to dish out violent retribution, irrespective of the implications. However, as orderly as he seems, John is, as they are saying, an agent of chaos.

There’s greater than meets the attention in Chad Stahelski’s fast-paced motion extravaganza, a hypnotic, brilliantly executed thrill journey with stunning depth. Keanu is completely forged as our main man. The actor exhibits a knack for dealing with weapons, plenty of weapons, and carries himself properly in the course of the numerous struggle sequences. Additionally available is a game-supporting forged led by Michael Nyqvist, John Leguizamo, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and Adrianne Palicki — oh, and Willem Dafoe, stupendous as John’s brother-in-arms.

John Wick packs fairly the punch because of gloriously realized “gun-fu” sequences and a handful of well-staged set items. It journeys up barely within the third act en path to its closing boss battle however by no means fails to shock, shock, or awe. John Wick is terrific cinema.

2. John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

From its good opening automobile battle, that includes a terrific cameo by the nice Peter Stormare, you may inform John Wick: Chapter 2 has larger fish to fry. If its predecessor provided a scrumptious appetizer, Chapter 2 serves the principle course and barely leaves room for dessert. The sequel is as fashionable, action-packed, and dazzling as the unique however larger, extra assured, and refined.

The plot, resembling it’s, sees John thrust again into his earlier life when a ruthless Italian gangster calls for him to meet a contract made way back. John travels to Rome, partakes in a ugly execution, then returns to the States with a $7M contract on his head. After all, that is simply an excuse to toss Keanu right into a collection of brutal struggle sequences — he kills some dudes with a pencil! — every extra thrilling than the following. It’s astonishing how director Stahleski finds new methods to shock us all through the expanded 120-minute run time, not simply within the quite a few shootouts. His scope is grander, and his characters are higher realized. So whereas the world-building is a bit distracting, it’s not sufficient to decrease any of the movie’s optimistic qualities.

Keanu infuses John with an ideal mix of rugged allure and ferocity. Make no mistake: John is a damaged man on a path towards damnation, and he is aware of it. Each alternative he makes is designed to arrange the following battle as a result of this darkish world is all he has. The climactic motion sequence takes place in a room stuffed with mirrors the place John is compelled to observe his near-supernatural actions play out on numerous surfaces. By the movie’s finish, he’s nonetheless the likable anti-hero however clearly so misplaced in vengeance that he can’t even trouble to call his new canine. “You’re hooked on this life,” a personality tells him. No shit.

Quite a bit is boiling beneath the floor of John Wick 2, sufficient to boost it above the everyday Hollywood motion image. That it options a few of the most thrilling motion sequences ever dedicated to movie is simply icing on the cake. John Wick 2 guidelines.

1. John Wick: Chapter 4

It’s so nice when a movie comes alongside that’s good you need to see it many times. As a lot as I really like John Wick 1-3, Chapter 4 in some way takes the already extraordinary franchise to a brand new gear I didn’t even know existed. Narratively, Chapter 4 hits lots of the similar beats as earlier installments, however director Chad Stahelski ups the motion in a approach that may be not possible to prime. After all, each set piece might function the climax of any motion image — yeah, John Wick: Chapter 4 is unbelievable and may go down as one of many all-time nice motion epics ever produced.

Furthermore, the emotional stakes are the strongest for the reason that authentic John Wick. As astonishing because the Dragon Breath shotgun and Arc de Triomphe sequences are, neither would matter if we didn’t care in regards to the purpose behind their existence. Fortunately, Stahelski and writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch set up correct character motivations early on and lean into the finely-tuned drama. As acknowledged, a lot of the pic sticks near the formulation — Wick must kill a man to get to the following plot level in order that he can kill extra individuals to get to the ultimate plot level — however this time, the journey carries emotional weight.

Additionally, the place facet characters in earlier entries felt extra redundant than mandatory, John Wick 4 introduces a handful of distinctive people I’d like to see extra of in future movies — Donnie Yen, particularly, is a standout, a lot in order that I made a decision I wanted extra of him and commenced watching the Ip Man collection for the primary time. However you even have Shamier Anderson’s “No person,” Rina Sawayama’s Akira, Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shimazu Koji, and outdated associates Laurence Fishburne and Ian McShane. So there are many instructions to take the franchise.

My one disappointment with Chapter 4 is that I wished to see John take down the Excessive Desk, an motion seemingly promised on the finish of Chapter 3. For the collection to proceed, I suppose we’d like the faceless leaders to stay in operation. Nonetheless, it might have been cool to see our boy burn down the institution. As a substitute, he merely stokes the flames and can function the image that hopefully unites others to destroy/rebuild this unusual universe.

In any other case, Chapter 4 is a near-flawless, wonderful piece of pulp cinema, violent, thrilling, emotional, and extremely entertaining. John Wick goes down as one of popular culture’s biggest heroes. It’s the kind of movie I can’t wait to observe over and over within the years to return. What a received darned journey. Everybody concerned, please take a bow.