Please note that this is a review of the TV-14 edited version of the film. A review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s finally happened, the John Wick has reached its final form. I can say without a doubt that this is the best film in the saga. It’s crazy to think that it’s been years since I saw the 3rd one. The first film was naturally held back by what happened to his dog, the worst way you could start a film tbh. The third film managed to squeeze in a dog getting shot as well which was super unnecessary and wasted too much time in the desert with a side character I didn’t care about. The second film had been my favorite one for a while there and I dare say it’s gotten even better in my memories but I may be forgetting some things. Either way this one surpasses it, I don’t really have many complaints here.

The film picks up where the last one left off, with Wick working to get revenge on the table and the continental for betraying him. He quickly puts a lot of people in a body bag but the Table isn’t going to go down without a fight. They are using every resource at their disposal to track down Wick and even destroy the Continental. This forces a bit of a truce with the owner and Wick. Is there really a way to defeat a global enterprise like the Table though? We’re talking literal millions of fighters on their side and at the end of the day Wick is only one man. He will have to bring his A game here.

If I do have a minor complaint here, it’s that I wanted to see Wick going up against the Continental. That could have been the opening action set piece with him being the one to destroy the hotel and then the rest of the film plays out like normal. Wick ultimately letting bygones be bygones and not taking it too personal does make sense within the framework of the world but it still felt like a tease from how the last film left off. It heavily implied a big fight was to come, rather than setting Wick up against the new villain in this film.

The film also quickly addresses any concerns you might have had about the idea of beating an endless organization and it’s clever while also working within the rules of the series. The movie is quite long and as you can expect, nearly all of it is a long string of various fight scenes. You will definitely get your fill of action here. If you don’t want a lot of fighting then you’ve certainly come to the wrong movie. I’m sure some hardcore fans have probably counted the exact minutes of fight scenes to see which one has the most but I would not be surprised if this film ends up taking the crown on that.

There are some new characters that show up here to expand the cast but all in all the series does a good job of keeping each installment fairly light with the characters. One of them is a hitman known as Nobody. He’s really good at his job and while I did not find him as impressive as some of the other hitmen throughout the series, he obviously does have a lot of skill. He does well to play the long game even if he does underestimate the other players quite a bit. In a straight fight Wick is taking him down easily and I doubt he would pose much of a thread to the table.

Caine is a much stronger rival in this film. I do have to say that I had a hard time taking him seriously though. He’s completely blind so in the film he has different gadgets that help him keep track of his opponents. It’s just too much of a liability though, especially when his whole head is exposed for any gunshots. I don’t see how he has lived this long and has too many weaknesses. I can believe him being super powerful in close combat but there’s no way he would live this long in this world. Once he went blind that should have been the end of his career. I was glad the film showed Wick is more skilled but I would argue that the gap should be much wider than it was here. The film is also a reminder of why having any family while being a hitman is not advised since that’s just another word for future hostage.

Winston gets a pretty solid role in this film. It’s not like he’s a fighter in his prime so he’s not going around stabbing everyone but he does well with the word games and keeping the other fighters sharp. He is good in the support role and is always around to give Wick some really important advice. Likewise the king of the underworld always has some good equipment for Wick. Without his help, Wick would definitely have not made it over to the final showdown in time since the shortcut saved a bunch of time.

The main villain, the Marquis is okay. I don’t think he was as impressive as most of the other villains but the film had some powerful villains to take the primary role. Mostly he is here to be smug the whole time. While he isn’t a big fighter, we can assume that he had some moves in order to make it this far. A quick fight would have been fun to see but that’s just not his style. If you can’t fight, at least be smug. So he gets that part right and his right hand man looks very impressive in the battles.

As always, it is worth noting that the film is quite violent so you will want to watch out for that. If you have an aversion to blood then naturally this isn’t the movie for you. The film mainly keeps it all to violence in combat here though so in some ways it doesn’t feel as violent as some of the other films. It also could just be a time thing where I’m more used to it now. Violence comes in many forms and that could be its own editorial someday but violence in combat is definitely the most palatable kind of violence. It’s something that the fighters have signed up for and you’re not dwelling on each kill. Wick mows down dozens and dozens of fighters in the movie but it’s not like any of them are being tortured. They’re being shot or stabbed and then he moves on to the next one.

The film does have a dog taking a heavy hit at one point which again feels really unnecessary. Why do you always bring dogs into this? At least he was okay and it wasn’t as serious as the bullet wound from last time so it didn’t really hurt the film but it definitely did put me on notice. The long climax is also one of the better ones, and by that I mean arriving to the final battle. The final battle itself is only okay but for narrative reasons it’s not like the characters are taking it all that seriously.

The soundtrack for the film is really good. There are quite a number of solid tracks that appear and support the fight scenes. You definitely get into the action mood right with the various themes. The visuals are also really stellar and you can tell that the film really takes pride in finding great locations. Everything about the film always feels like there was a lot of really high production values across the board. From the writing to the choreography. I’d say it’s a big reason as to why the series is so successful.

Now, the film isn’t without its plot armor which is pretty unavoidable in a long action film like this. The final plan relies on the villain hesitating before shooting. Many of these big fight scenes also rely on nobody being able to land a clean headshot and then one meeting with another group relies on them not just immediately finishing Wick off. I guess you need a little bit of luck in order to be the best.

I’d say one of the best scenes in the film is definitely the brief poker game. I always like it when a film or any kind of media gets all of the big hype characters in a room. It also doesn’t end up making everyone look terrible like in Agents of Shield where everyone got together only to be held at gunpoint by randoms. Here, everyone keeps their hype and the film also not so subtlety gives us some contrast between them and how each one has a plan to get out of there. I’d even say the film tends to have a bit of a morbid sense of humor at times which is always handled well.

Overall, This was definitely a lot of fun. The film’s ending is technically one of the weaker ones as both 2 and 3 had way better cliffhangers but I did think the final scene was a solid way to end things off. Revenge is one of those never ending cycles but I was rooting for the lady to have her get back moment. Hey, things will always be sad for one character in a revenge plot but you gotta take a side. Meanwhile I expect to see a lot more of John Wick taking names in the next film. It’s hard to say who could be a real threat to him at this point so I think the next logical step would be to make it a protection mission of sorts. A kid stumbles into the wrong scene at the wrong time and Wick protecting her causes him to be in another tricky spot? The danger wouldn’t be to him so much as her sort of limiting his options. Either way I’m sure they can think of something and I’ll be curious to see if they can top this one. I would also like him to be revered more as a legendary hitman again. I know you need everyone to try their luck against him for the action scenes but would random number 58 really try to shoot his shot when he just saw the last 57 guys get immediately shredded? I’d like a scene of at least one guy running away after he gets to the scene, would be another effective humor moment.

Overall 8/10