‘John Wick 4’ Is All Artifice And No Art

“John Wick 4”, is already a hit at the box office, but my personal reaction to the movie was not in sync with most of the audience. After seeing the film, I decided to check what others were saying about it on the social media film review site, Letterboxd.

The problem with gamifying “likes” to democratize film criticism is that people often reduce in-depth critical analysis to vague statements designed to gain approval from the crowd. A rave review, for instance, that received many “likes” stated: “I can’t wait to finally lose my virginity so I can say that this was better than sex.”

The movie feels like it was produced by an antisocial incel gamer who collaborated with the latest version of the artificial intelligence (AI) platform, Midjourney, to create his action drama, which is now a reflection of a world on the brink of producing movies like Keanu Reeves’ “The Matrix” through AI. Sadly, it is a pinnacle of human achievements that is lacking in humanity.

Although the technical achievements of the movie are commendable, the sum of the parts is still less than its whole. One can enjoy watching Reeves dispatch villainous NPCs in a visceral way. The fight scenes are entertaining, but they are also laden with so much CGI that it detracts from the realism of the film. The movie also leans heavily into the visual language of video games, a generational trend that is like a Rorschach test for audiences.

The characters are distant from the story, making it hard for viewers to connect with their motivations. The background story is vague so that one has to overlook the fact that the villainous Marquis, played by Bill Skarsgard, is only identified as a sadistic Frenchman. The presence of veterans in the cast, including Ian McShane, Lawrence Fishburne, Clancy Brown, Hiroyuki Sanada, and the late Lance Riddick, makes up for the lack of character development but is made worse by their underbaked material devoid of smart dialogue.

Martial arts superstar Donnie Yen plays a fellow assassin sent to hunt John Wick. Although Yen’s skill set is impressive, his character is a typical trope in filmmaking – the blind martial artist. It is fan service that does not add any real value to his character. Shamier Anderson does what he can with a character who is also fighting alongside a German Shepherd. But the presence of a dog in the film is so clichéd that it becomes a hackneyed plot device.

The central issue with the movie is that John Wick has morphed into a sociopathic killer, rendering the relatable protagonist established in the previous films unrecognizable. The martial arts superstar, bullets bouncing off kevlar suits, and high impacts that leave no bruises are technically impressive, but there is little investment in the John Wick character. It leaves audiences without the feeling of suspense about whether or not Wick will live to fight another day.

The cinematography is all over; the film is well-lit but overly laden with neon blues and reds, lending it an artificial feel. The scenes are too defined, too crisp; it’s like watching hyperreality on an IMAX screen, which is also distracting. In the climactic final scene, the Sacré-Cœur at sunrise, the backdrop is so stylized that it is hard for those who have seen the actual location to concentrate on it.

However, “John Wick 4” may well define the future of entertainment. It has bulldozed past objections to pioneer a new stylized type of entertainment that more closely mirrors video games than traditional cinema, borrowing notions of story and character from literature. Many may find this direction refreshing. “John Wick 4” currently has a high rating of 4.2 out of 5 on Letterboxd, which indicates many people enjoyed it despite its drawbacks.

However, despite its technical sorcery and thousands of breathtaking moments in the film, there appears to be no emotional connection, just visceral excitement. For me, “John Wick 4” was not thrilling. It might well be regarded as a movie that shows people how entertainment can be completely divorced from art.