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movie review - John Wick: Chapter 4

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

The Boy and I watched this, perhaps to see it through as much as anything. This series of movies has made less and less sense as they progress, and in this case the world-building established in the earlier movies is eroded as the titular character goes through more impossible and absurd stuff. There are zero likable characters, who are roughed in using only the rudest crayon sketches. For instance, a large sub-plot unfolds with this fellow who has a dog and .. I'm not sure what the point really is other than perhaps to keep the action going. In the end the guy takes his dog and they just walk away. There are lots of flashy sequences and I applaud what they are doing with the style. But overall it just feels like a cash-grab. I suppose you can see that coming with the '4' in the title.

One thing for which I'll give them credit: they employ a recurring reference to the '80s movie "The Warriors" in an appropriate way, as our hero(?) goes about New York on a voyage that mirrors the violence and sequence of challenges in that older (and significantly better) movie.

Avoid. Watch "The Warriors" instead. Or perhaps if you're a fan of the main actor try "Swedish Dicks".