John Wick Chapter 4 (2023) - Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne, Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama

[WangYu]

You put a knife in my back, shot an arrow in me, tell me are you the ghost of jealousy!

You should find a gif of the fat suit though

[J.J. Hayden]

John Wick 4 is currently getting EFAPed

 

 

[Darth Kermit]

Oh fucking hell, these guys are the absolute worst. The very title of Every Frame a Pause disgusts me.

[J.J. Hayden]

They're actually pretty awesome. If really doing a deep dive into every bit of a film (with plenty of humour too), disgusts you, well don't watch.....then again if it's literally the title that disgusts you then chill out a bit I guess.

Anyway, the links there for people to enjoy.

[actionfan93]

I loved seeing the Osaka Continental and all the scenes that took place there and Akira was a great new character hoping to see much more of her in a spinoff or spinoffs  or a new series of movies and hopefully Rina Sawayama gets more action roles she absolutely did amazing for her first film,first fight scenes and first action role I think she could be one of the next big female action stars continuing the kind of performances we saw from Yukari Oshima,Michelle Yeoh,Cynthia Rothrock,Cynthia Khan,Sharon Yeung,Moon Lee,Fujimi Nadeki and Michiko Nishiwaki

Edited April 2, 2023 by actionfan93

[Darth Kermit]

11 hours ago, J.J. Hayden said:

If really doing a deep dive into every bit of a film (with plenty of humour too), disgusts you, well don't watch.....then again if it's literally the title that disgusts you then chill out a bit I guess.

I don't watch them. I watched them once and hated it. I also tried watching a few MauLer videos and hated that too. The title itself I also find terrible. To me, they are so hypercritical frame to frame, that they miss contextual stuff and fail to see the big picture a lot of the time. It's a similar situation with the CinemaSins group (though they "claim" to be comedy, but people who watch them use it as gospel, factual evidence of a film's failings).

[J.J. Hayden]

1 hour ago, TheMuffinMan656 said:

I don't watch them. I watched them once and hated it.

I could tell that. Which episode did you actually watch?

[Darth Kermit]

14 minutes ago, J.J. Hayden said:

I could tell that. Which episode did you actually watch?

I don't remember, it's been a few years. Perhaps they have changed, but I don't have any desire to revisit them. Another off putter is how long their videos are. I don't think I much care to hear someone talk about a single movie for as long or longer other than a commentary by the people behind it or experts on the subject, like Frank Djeng and others.

[J.J. Hayden]

The problem is that there's been so much crap produced over the last ten years or so, that it might seem that they have nothing but negative things to say, but they have done episodes on films they like, House Of The Dragon is a recent one. With MauLer you have have actually watching some of his "unbridled rage" vids which are intentionally over the top negative, but he does do vids on things he likes; his vids on the games Soma or Amnesia etc.

But obviously, as you say you don't like long-form content it's unlikely that you'd sit to watch their stuff. I on the other hand love long-form content, maybe it reflects my own research, digging deep into every nook and cranny I can find. I often put stuff like that on while I'm doing research and just listen.

If long-form's not your thing, then I get why you wouldn't listen, but I don't understand how anyone could think "they're the absolute worst". For those who do like long-form, there's plenty to enjoy from the EFAP crew.

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

On 3/29/2023 at 2:26 PM, Karlos said:

OK, just got out of my screening.

Always hard to talk about something when it's just ended but overall I loved it.

I won't post a review as such as people are better at that than me, but 

  Reveal hidden contents

I hope that's the end now. Let him rest.

Beautiful stuff for the most part.

Best US action film ever? Possibly.

Best US action film franchise? Probably.

 

Would you put this over the Die Hard movies? The first 3 at least.  

[Karlos]

@OpiumKungFuCracker Wick vs McClane - that's a tough one!

Die Hard is a true classic, as we all know.

(I really like Die Harder, but last time I saw the third one I didn't enjoy it. The other sequels don't exist).

So, overall, for me, Wick wins!

[DiP]

Had a great time at the theater yesterday watching the movie, despite my wife beside me all half-asleep during the middle section of the movie. 

My first impression: This installment surpasses part 3 in many ways story and action-wise. You can tell that Chad and team put alot of effort in trying to engross viewers and leave them stuck and wanting to follow through till the end of everything. When the new essential characters -- Marquis, Caine, Mr. Nobody, Koji, Akira, Killa -- are introduced in the story, you want to know their background and see more of them. Which in turn is also one of the movie's weaknesses per say: The movie doesn't showcase most of them properly the way you want them to be shown. For me, I wanted more of Donnie Yen's Caine (even though he has either the 4th or 5th billing in the main cast), Hiroyuki Sanada's Koji, and Scott Adkins' Killa because they added soul into their roles. Then there's also a huge change in how Wick is in the story: Seems like Chad intentionally wanted Wick to be less talkative and more about surviving and being offensive this time around. For me, this was both a turn-on, and a turn-off. It's good to see Reeves unleash what he does best and stays true to the character of John Wick: Being the ruthless Baba Yaga killing countless of people, and getting away with it. Then it's bad too because Reeves' acting gets awkward at times when he delivers one-liners ("Yeah", "I'm going to need a gun") in unexpected ways.

But in anyway, these new additions bring more spice and more dramatics allowing for alot of fun and cleverness in both acting and action department. Bill Skarsgård does all the dialogue scenes, and his character was one of those villains with an intimidating presence. To Skarsgårds' advantage, it worked great for him being reflective in his overall acting performance so I was impressed. Sanada was a pleasure to watch and it's a shame people barely mention him at all because he pulled it off with the overall screen-time he got in the movie. Adkins' stuck out too, not just action-wise but especially his acting performance. He really came off being a true movie character rather than the action performer trying hard to show off overall acting skills. I liked his character being a cross between Joker (the constant laughing, the purple suit) and Sammo Hung (the overall prosthetics to make Adkins appear big) in SPL as well. The crowd I was watching the movie with had a blast in laughter hearing all of his punchlines in that foreign accent. Shamier Anderson as Mr. Nobody could've been just as conventional as Mark Zaror's Chidi (Marquis' main henchman) as a hitman but the fact that his character virtually has no background, and works with nobody but a dog added something in the story and nice touches for the role. And last but not least we have Donnie Yen as Caine...  Absolutely phenomenal!!! What people on social media have said about his overall performance in the movie is self-explanatory. He's the true stand-out in the whole movie as a blind but yet deadly and mouth-witty assassin with a heart and agenda of his own. He's cool and oozes incredible charisma yeah -- at almost 60 years of age, this man still hasn't lost a single beat in mere action performing and still looks very sharp and mesmerizing -- but he also gets to the chance to show what he's made of in terms of acting. There's several nuances of him displaying various emotions (his scenes with Sanada and Sawayama, the Berlin nightclub scene with Adkins, the end scene with Reeves) beyond his usual wooden and angry face he puts on in his other movies. Plus he has all the best one-liners in the movie; Serious and amusing ones ("John, are you dead?", "Fuck Off!", "Those who cling to life, die"). This is such a breakthrough role, and another iconic and memorable character from him. Make that Caine spin-off next, thanks! 😎

The action scenes... Creative, fresh, and intense. The gunplay-takedowns and Reeves's overall fighting style can get quite repetitive after a while but overall whenever he gets to face off formidable opponents that's when things get on fire. The MA talents here reflect exactly what the movie promises the viewers: Great action scenes from beginning to the end. Reeves, Yen, Sanada, Zaror, Sawayama, Adkins, Anderson, the stuntmen. Chad managed to create more memorable set-pieces here compared to all previous installments combined, which makes part 4 the best in terms of sheer action film-making. The Osaka hotel, the nightclub, the Arc de Triomphe, the house shoot-out (with the overhead shot inspired by the video games Miami Hotline and The Hong Kong Massacre), and the staircase scenes were all created and carefully staged and executed in ways that is rare in today's action movies.

Verdict: Best installment in the franchise, and the best action movie Hollywood has produced to date. It's THE action movie of the year to beat. Hats off to everyone involved! 👏👏👏

Edited April 3, 2023 by DiP

[Drunken Monk]

14 hours ago, actionfan93 said:

I loved seeing the Osaka Continental and all the scenes that took place there and Akira was a great new character hoping to see much more of her in a spinoff or spinoffs  or a new series of movies and hopefully Rina Sawayama gets more action roles she absolutely did amazing for her first film,first fight scenes and first action role I think she could be one of the next big female action stars continuing the kind of performances we saw from Yukari Oshima,Michelle Yeoh,Cynthia Rothrock,Cynthia Khan,Sharon Yeung,Moon Lee,Fujimi Nadeki and Michiko Nishiwaki

The official John Wick Twitter page is kinda, sorta teasing her return…

[actionfan93]

47 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

The official John Wick Twitter page is kinda, sorta teasing her return…

I hope she gets multiple movies as Akira or other characters

[WangYu]

I’ve never been one to get all excited about spin offs. There is a reason they’re side characters. In a great movie everything comes together and it is very enjoyable but no it doesn’t mean I want more of it.
Everything gets turned into a universe these days with origin stories for side characters, tv shows etc but how many of it has been memorable?

For example The Avengers. Do we really need each character in this universe to have an origins movie? 
Sometimes it is better to keep the mystery of some characters.

For example what if the proposed spin off to Jaws got off. Spielberg wanted then Quint character in his USS Indianapolis film. What’s the point? It would be a different Quint, not the same one from Jaws, this one would have been younger, less experienced and probably less rugged lol

His Jaws monologue is more than enough, when he does his speech I see the images before me, imagination! I don’t need an entire movie.

[One Armed Boxer]

6 hours ago, DiP said:

Then there's also a huge change in how Wick is in the story: Seems like Chad intentionally wanted Wick to be less talkative and more about surviving and being offensive this time around. For me, this was both a turn-on, and a turn-off.

It was actually Reeves himself who removed around half his dialogue from the original script, leaving him with just 380 words across the entire almost 3 hour runtime - 

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/keanu-reeves-cut-john-wick-4-dialogue-actor-says-380-words-1235565814/

[Darth Kermit]

7 hours ago, DiP said:

Great action scenes from beginning to the end. Reeves, Yen, Sanada, Zaror, Sawayama, Adkins, Anderson, the stuntmen. Chad managed to create more memorable set-pieces here compared to all previous installments combined, which makes part 4 the best in terms of sheer action film-making.

I love what Chad said in the piece about the stairfall and how he talks about the pieves in general. The stuntman who did it wasn't like "what's the best way to avoid getting hurt on this fall?" His attitude was "we are making something special with this stunt." Every action sequence was special, new, inventive, and pushing the franchise and Hollywood action forward. The roundabout traffic fight? The longest stair fall? Dragonsbreath overhead sequence? I love Stahelski's direction and attitude with his films. Constantly wanting to push the envelope and show us something unique and special, while also paying homage to past classics. He's an incredible director.

[Karlos]

That stairs scene was a brilliant metaphor for life itself.

[ShaOW!linDude]

On 4/2/2023 at 12:01 PM, DiP said:

For me, I wanted more of Donnie Yen's Caine (even though he has either the 4th or 5th billing in the main cast),

I do believe Yen got 2nd billing. I remember his name appearing directly after Keanu's in the credits.

[Drunken Monk]

I'm one of the few that doesn't want to see more of Caine. Not because I didn't like him (I love him) but because I enjoyed him more as the lighthearted guy to John Wick's straight man. I liked him more as a supporting role and I'm not sure I'd like him as much as a lead.
I wouldn't mind seeing in the Akira film, if that ever gets made. Maybe as a mentor character to Akira after they set aside their differences. But I don't think I want an entire film centered on him.

[laagi]

I can't wrap my head around all the praise given to Donnie Yen as Caine. I don't want to be that guy but to me he was really just OK, nothing more.

And yes for those who've already watched the movie it's pretty obvious we'll get a spin-off involving his character to some degree. If that gets a green-light that is.

But judging by the boxoffice numbers I think Lionsgate certainly will look for more JW related movies!

 

[One Armed Boxer]

On 4/3/2023 at 4:48 AM, WangYu said:

I’ve never been one to get all excited about spin offs. There is a reason they’re side characters. In a great movie everything comes together and it is very enjoyable but no it doesn’t mean I want more of it.

9 hours ago, Drunken Monk said:

I wouldn't mind seeing in the Akira film, if that ever gets made. Maybe as a mentor character to Akira after they set aside their differences. But I don't think I want an entire film centered on him.

4 hours ago, laagi said:

And yes for those who've already watched the movie it's pretty obvious we'll get a spin-off involving his character to some degree. If that gets a green-light that is.

Normally I feel the same way as @WangYu when it comes to spin-offs involving side characters, but in John Wick I'd actually be open to it, mainly because as @Sam Seed said

On 3/24/2023 at 11:29 AM, SamSeed said:

the least interesting thing about John Wick 4 is John Wick

so I think there's potential there to have a more interesting protagonist if it's done the right way. Let's remember that Boyka started out as just the villain for Michael Jai White to go up against in 'Undisputed 2', and look how that turned out!

[WangYu]

Good point regarding undisputed 2

[Super Ninja]

I was in cinema twice in three days. It's not perfect, it's no masterpiece as some claim, but there's just something about this movie that makes me wanna rewatch it again and again. It's one of the greatest action movies of our time and this is coming from someone who became a fan with Parabellum, no sooner.

For an action fan, this is a feast. Zaror and Adkins finally got a decent role in a Hollywood movie and got to show off some of their stuff (remember Zaror in Alita and Adkins in Dr. Strange?), Sanada has a proper fight scene that never happened in Bullet Train or Mortal Kombat, and Donnie... Donnie simply steals the show. Moving like that at 59? Wow! This is the OG almost putting the "young bloods" to shame. 

Lighting, cinematography and the build-up, great. JW4 has some of the best pre-fight build up I've seen. I was complaining about Reeves being a bad actor, being too wooden in his action scenes. By now I've accepted all of it and could finally enjoy Chapter 4 for what it is, hungry for some John Wick action. And I silently applauded and happily grinned when that action kicked in, gun-jitsu, nunchaks, sword duels, dog action (admittedly, JW3 is superior here) and whatnot. What I got was a pure action joy.

I could analyze JW4 to death and could count a number of flaws and things I didn't quite liked, but rather than arguments I'd like to share the feeling I got, the tremendous, overwhelming, heart pounding feeling. Witnessing that small movie released almost ten years ago growing into such a mammoth franchise, is a gift to action fans around the world. To think the first JW barely made it to cinemas, and now Chapter 4 has a budget bigger than what the first movie earned. To see Stahelski and Leitch becoming some of the best known action movie directors after years of stunt work in the industry, directing some of the most successful action films of today, how huge is that? We were here to see them grow.

And now, they created one of the most influential action franchises of today and they get to play with what they've created for all of us to enjoy in Chapter 4. Just writing this makes me wanna go see it again. People should be educated in watching action and MA films. The stuff people had to say about Chapter 4, it's just sad. If we here can't appreciate this action monster of a movie, who can? Who will? It's our genre, the genre that makes us come here every day, now breaking BO records worldwide, isn't that a reason to celebrate?

 

 

[Agent U]

17 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

Normally I feel the same way as @WangYu when it comes to spin-offs involving side characters, but in John Wick I'd actually be open to it, mainly because as @Sam Seed said

so I think there's potential there to have a more interesting protagonist if it's done the right way. Let's remember that Boyka started out as just the villain for Michael Jai White to go up against in 'Undisputed 2', and look how that turned out!

But in their respective contexts, I don't think any character in JW4 had such an overwhelmingly positive response as Boyka did back in U2. Especially if these JW spin-offs are meant to be theatrical releases.

I can only laugh at the idea of having a Tracker spin-off for instance.