There's a moment in the opening sequence of JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 where Lawrence Fishburne facilitates a ripoff of a shot in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Yes, THAT shot. The most iconic in the movie and one of the most iconic in film history. No spoilers, obviously.
Of course, director Chad Stahelski knows he's aping one of the all-time grand epics. But that's the point. That shot points his metaphorical bat to right-center field, and such as Babe Ruth did, it signals the home run to come.
I speak not in hyperbole, because this is one of the rare occasions where grandiosity is earned. Taking the legendary hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) through a ballet of death on an odyssey of freedom leads to a movie that simply overwhelms with how many pieces whiz and crash and break around its hero, and do so to a masterfully maximalist degree.
The beauty is undeniable. The action dropped my jaw and held it there. At the end of it all, it's very simple: JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 is one of the greatest movies ever made.
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Closing Song: "Lights Out Little Hustler" - Samiam
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