No movie does action quite likeJohn Wick. Time after time, theJohn Wickfranchise has presented many exhilarating, brutal, andjaw-dropping action scenes, and with each movie, the action only gets bigger and better. The action that beams from the franchise elevates the way we see action in said franchise, as well as, and more importantly, in cinema as a whole. From its humble beginnings seeing John Wick take down a handful of intruders with gun fu, to the Baba Yaga using Nunchaku against heavily armored goons, theJohn Wickfranchise keeps pushing the limits of action cinema. Nowhere is this more true than the latest addition to the franchise. The action inJohn Wick: Chapter 4is simply mesmerizing, showcasing action as an art form and feeling like a video game brought to life. To that end, here is every fight scene inJohn Wick: Chapter 4, ranked.
Related:Every John Wick Movie (So Far), Ranked
12Horse-Fu
No action scene in the film is dull. Even this incredibly short horseback chase that has John only killing three enemies. The scene plays as a surprising and brilliant homage toLawrence of Arabia, seeing the shadowy silhouettes of John and the goons he is chasing as the sun rises behind them, showcasing how stunning the film’s cinematography is. Wrapping up fairly quickly, John pulls out his pistol and shoots the three enemies of their horses, before confronting The Elder.
Again, no scene in this film is boring or lackluster, yet the fight in the Berlin nightclub feels a little underwhelming compared to the rest of the action scenes that surround the film. The set design is breathtaking, and the waterfalls scattered around the club topped with the stunning lighting provide for a gorgeous backdrop for John to rack up a large kill count.
The scene starts with Caine, The Tracker and John Wick teaming up against Killa’s goons, leading John to chase Killa through his nightclub while dispatching of as many of Killa’s cronies as he can. Charging at him with axes, John quickly turns their weapons against them, allowing for some awesome kills.
10John Wick vs Killa
Killa was one of the most-anticipated characters featured inJohn Wick: Chapter 4and he did not disappoint. But an aspect of his character that we did not expect, was how invincible he is. John slices a playing card through Killa’s neck, shoots him in the butt a ton of times, and punches the beast to a pulp. Yet, with all his injuries, Killa is still able to give John one heck of a challenge, spin-kicking the Baba Yaga of a two-story balcony, as well as clotheslining John, leaving him winded on the floor.
However, in full John Wick fashion, the Baba Yaga quickly gets up and continues his battle against the unkillable villain, until John finally pushes Killa down some stairs, with Killa landing directly on his neck. Brutal!
9Caine vs Shimazu
Pitting martial arts legendsHiroyuki Sanadaand Donnie Yen against one another is already a recipe for success. Yet this scene was so much better than we could have ever anticipated. The two martial arts legends display ferocious, elegant, and fast swordplay in a gorgeous Japanese garden backdrop. The action is blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, as Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shimazu throws rapid swings at Donnie Yen’s Caine, all while Caine opts for a more direct, striking style, which is how Caine ultimately gets the upper hand on Shimazu.
TheJohn Wickfranchise is no stranger to car stunts, as evident with the brutal car kill inJohn Wick: Chapter 2. However,John Wick: Chapter 4easily sports the most impressive and jaw-dropping car-fu to date. During his journey to the Sacre-Coeur, John is visited by an onslaught of assassins wishing to take his $26-million-dollar bounty, with many attempting to run him over with cars. One of which is a black muscle car that hits John, forcing him on top of its hood while the car drives full speed. Once John shoots its driver, and the car crashes, John gets behind the wheel and wreaks havoc. At this point, it goes without saying, but Keanu Reeves did all the impressive car stunts himself and trained tirelessly for months to perfect it.
John shoots many assassins while behind the wheel, and of course, runs a few of them over. But easily the best and most memorable moment was when John does the longest donut ever put to screen, around two cars with a dozen assassins in the middle, all of whom John mows down with his pistol. Brilliantly, John did all of this in a single donut with a single magazine. On top of that, the entire scene was set to an epic and thrilling French version of “Paint it Black” revving up the carnage.
7John Wick vs Caine
This showdown between the two old friends is tense, creative, and thrilling. John Wick and Caine have two drastically different fighting styles, elevating the action. Caine is far faster and much more fluid in his movements, whereas John Wick is slower and prefers grapples and throws over anything. So meshing these two together allows for an epic showdown. The scene’s lack of music raised the tension and stakes, and John uses Caine’s visual impairment to his advantage. At least, he tries to. The standout moment, however, has to be the two firing at each other at point-blank range, all while holding sword’s to fend the other off.
6Kitchen Showdown
ThroughDonnie Yen’sphenomenal performance and physicality, Caine stole the show inJohn Wick: Chapter 4, and one of his most impressive fight scenes has to be his first. At this point in the movie, we haven’t yet seen how the blind assassin kills his enemies. Yet, we were not ready for this jaw-dropping, creative, and exhilarating scene.
Dodging many arrows, Caine’s lack of vision takes nothing away from his skills, as Caine places motion-detecting doorbell devices allowing Caine to know where his enemies are. After that, Caine whips at enemies with his cane, before sending a barrage of punches at his foes, putting them down for good. The creativity that surrounds the scene has to be praised, and it was this scene that cemented Caine as a fan favorite.
Related:John Wick 4’s Donnie Yen Wants a Caine Spin-Off
5Playing in Traffic
Playing in traffic is certainly dangerous within itself, but place the Baba Yaga and a bunch of assassins in the middle of rows of speeding cars, and the game becomes far more deadly. In one of the most creative and bombastic sequences in the film, Paris gangsters and the Marquis’ henchmen trap John in the middle of blazing traffic, surrounding The Arc de Triomphe. It doesn’t take long, however, for John to use the speeding cars to his advantage, throwing the assassins into them and allowing cars to send some flying in the air, while John shoots said bad guys whilst they are in the air to finish the job.
John doesn’t go unscathed, however, as his bout with Chidi forces John to weave through traffic and get hit by a few cars along the way. Likewise, John uses the traffic to reload and protect himself from gunfire. Hiding behind stopped cars and buses, before unloading the magazine upon his enemies. To add to the madness, The Tracker’s dog leaps across the roofs of cars, attacking Chidi, and saving John’s life. Warning for all you dog lovers out there, the Tracker’s dog sadly does get hit by a car, but she instantly gets up without a scratch like the good girl that she is.
4The Osaka Continental Blood Bath
John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellumshowed us that throwing bullet-proof armored enemies against John Wick raises the stakes and adds a lot more creativity to the action sequences. So,John Wick: Chapter 4took the idea even further. Filled with bows and arrows, katanas, sumo wrestlers, and armored high-table cronies, the incredibly long, but never boring sequence in The Osaka Continental was breathtaking.
Although John dispatches all of his enemies in a brutal fashion, thestandout characterhas to be Akira. Akira uses her bow and arrow against the armored attackers, shooting arrows into kneecaps, heads, necks, and arms, ready for John to finish the kill. When she is out of arrows, however, she uses the bow to take the guns off her assailants, and use their weapons against them. Akira also shows us her skills with a blade, as she slices through many armored enemies, before climbing up the back of a large goon with knives. Almost like she is using ice picks to climb up a mountain.
Continuing the jaw-dropping Osaka Continental Blood Bath, John finds a pair of Nunchucks to brutally use against his enemies. Aftermonths of training, Keanu Reeves nailed the impressive choreography, whipping waves upon waves of enemies in the heads and groins, so he can get off one final shot to the head. The bad guys just kept on coming, and John continued to creatively use the Nunchucks against the dozens of enemies that tried to take him out.
The best moments saw John continue to thwack the Nunchucks at an enemy’s head, while John held his head down. That’s without mentioning the many glorious groin shots. This scene may be very long, but some may say that it wasn’t long enough.
