John Wick Chapter 4‘s release in the offing. The fourth film in the celebrated action and neo-noir franchise, it continues the adventures of Keanu Reeves’ titular hitman as he takes on the dreaded High Table with Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King. Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Clancy Brown, Natalia Tena, Marko Zaror, and Ian McShane also star.
The film is the second last of the John Wick movies. The series will end with the fifth movie. John Wick: Chapter 4 has received highly positive reviews, with a score of 93 per cent on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Before the film releases, here’s a brief recap of the franchise from the first movie to the third.
John Wick (2014)
In the first movie, we are introduced to John Wick, a legendary hitman who has retired from his profession and is trying to live a normal life with his wife, Helen. After Helen dies of an illness, John receives a posthumous gift from her, a little dog named Daisy. John forms a bond with Daisy, but his peaceful life is shattered when a group of Russian gangsters led by Iosef Tarasov break into his house, steal his car, and kill Daisy.
Iosef is the son of Wick’s former boss, Viggo Tarasov, who warns his son that he has angered someone he should not have. Viggo sends his henchmen to kill Wick, but they fail, and Wick returns to the underworld, seeking revenge. We are introduced to a world that exists in parallel to our world, where hitmen and hitwomen operate from the shadows.
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
In the second movie, which takes place four days after the events of the first movie, John is forced out of retirement again when Santino D’Antonio, an Italian crime lord, demands that John honor a blood oath to kill his sister, Gianna.
After completing the task, Santino puts a bounty on John’s head as he wishes to tie up loose ends like John, and every assassin in the world comes after him. John travels to Rome to confront Santino, but is ambushed by Santino’s bodyguards, including Ares, and is badly injured.
John is aided by a former colleague, Cassian, and heads back to New York to confront Santino. Santino tries to use the Continental Hotel’s rules to protect himself, but John kills him in the Continental’s lobby, which is a violation of the hotel’s rules, and John becomes ‘excommunicado’.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
In the third movie, we pick up immediately where the second movie ended. John is now on the run, with a $14 million bounty on his head. He seeks the help of somebody called the Director. John attempts to find a way to clear his name and reach the High Table, the governing body of the criminal underworld. He is hunted by the Adjudicator, who enforces the High Table’s rules, and her henchmen, including Zero, an assassin who idolises John.
John travels to Casablanca, Morocco, to meet with an old friend, Sofia, who owes him a favour. Together, they fight their way through the city and retrieve a key that John needs to reach the High Table. John finally confronts the High Table’s leader, the Elder, who tells him that to clear his name, he must kill Winston, the owner of the Continental Hotel.
After returning to New York, John is attacked by Zero and his students, but he manages to reach the Continental for protection. The Adjudicator arrives and demands that Winston give up his position, but he refuses. The Adjudicator revokes the hotel’s neutrality and sends an army of enforcers to kill John and Winston.
After a fierce battle, John defeats them all but is ambushed by Zero. Winston shoots John, causing him to fall to the street below. However, John survives and is taken to the Bowery King’s hideout, where they agree to team up against the High Table. Winston, meanwhile, swears fealty to the High Table.