The Keanuissance really began with the release of John Wick in 2014, a film that saw the titular black-suited murder maestro rain holy hell on the Russian mafia after they killed his beloved dog and stole his Ford Mustang. From little things, big things grow: this deceptively simple actioner was our gateway into a shadowy world of nigh-supernatural assassins run on arcane codes of honour and overseen by the High Table, a mysterious cabal of crime lords.
The series is now one of the best action franchises in the world, packed with incredible fight choreography and drenched in a very ‘90s goth trenchcoats ‘n’ mirrorshades vibe (not a million miles away from The Matrix, come to think of it). The latest instalment, John Wick 4, is hitting cinemas on March 23.
What can we expect? Ridiculous amounts of highly stylised violence, mainly. But in terms of plot, our man John is now teamed up with lowlife gang boss The Bowery King (Matrix mate Laurence Fishburne) after being betrayed and shot by his former friend, Winston (the great Ian McShane).
John’s planning revenge, but the High Table is siccing a new nemesis on him: the blind assassin Caine, played by Donnie Yen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a million excellent Hong Kong action flicks).
Keanu Reeves vs Donnie Yen. Holy heck.
If that’s not enough, they’ve also chucked genre legends Clancy Brown (Highlander, Spongebob Squarepants), Scott Adkins (Accident Man, Day Shift), and Hiroyuki Sanada (Mortal Kombat, Bullet Train) into the mix, plus Bill Skarsgård (It) as new villain The Marquis de Gramont. And Lance Reddick (The Wire) is back as Charon, the laconic concierge of the Continental Hotel that all these killers like to hang out at.
It’s gonna be a blast, gang, but for real: if Chow Yun-fat doesn’t show up in the next film with a gun in each hand, we riot. Lock and load.
