JW4 has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike but that's a mystery to me. JW1 introduced us to the world of the Continental, JW himself was tough but vulnerable and funny and the fight scenes were like nothing we'd seen before. It still had one foot in reality.
But from JW2 onwards Mr Wick has become indestructible, an unkillable superhero with magical powers. Sure there were some good moments in 2 and 3 and some wonderful choreography but for me, everything that made the first instalment so amazing is missing from JW4. The humour has gone and many of the set piece fights look like they were shot during rehearsals when they were being practiced at half speed. You can see the stunt men waiting for their cue to attack. Worst of all though, it's boring. I had to turn it off and go back to it the next day. The bullet proof suits are ridiculous and reminded me of the missteps of the Bond franchise before the Craig reboot - (invisible car?) Keananunu is obviously older now and can't throw himself around like he could back in the day and maybe this is one of the problems. The biggest though is that when the protagonist is indestructible there is no jeopardy so therefore no interest.
But from JW2 onwards Mr Wick has become indestructible, an unkillable superhero with magical powers. Sure there were some good moments in 2 and 3 and some wonderful choreography but for me, everything that made the first instalment so amazing is missing from JW4. The humour has gone and many of the set piece fights look like they were shot during rehearsals when they were being practiced at half speed. You can see the stunt men waiting for their cue to attack. Worst of all though, it's boring. I had to turn it off and go back to it the next day. The bullet proof suits are ridiculous and reminded me of the missteps of the Bond franchise before the Craig reboot - (invisible car?) Keananunu is obviously older now and can't throw himself around like he could back in the day and maybe this is one of the problems. The biggest though is that when the protagonist is indestructible there is no jeopardy so therefore no interest.