News broke this spring that John Wick was coming back to the big screen. John Wick 5 was confirmed, as was the news that John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski would be back for the new film. This surprise franchise, which started with a 2014 film that became a cult phenomenon, has grossed more money with each subsequent installment.
Given the franchise’s success in theaters, it’s hard to argue with the capitalistic logic of keeping the franchise going. If you’re a fan of John Wick as a franchise, though, you’d be forgiven for wondering whether this is a wise move.
Chapter 4 felt like an ending
For one thing, Chapter 4 is not exactly screaming for a sequel. The movie, which is nearly three hours long, seemed to be the apotheosis of everything that the franchise had long stood for. The set pieces were bigger and more elaborate, and, given the run time, there were also more of them. There were references to Lawrence of Arabia and an entire sequence shot in part from overhead. Chapter 4 may or may not be your favorite John Wick, movie, but it’s hard to deny that it’s not the most John Wick movie.
Perhaps even more importantly, though, Chapter 4 gives our character a pretty definitive ending. After John was pulled back into the world of underground assassins in the original film as he sought revenge for the death of his dog, he spent each subsequent installment trying to solve his last mistake. Chapter 4 feels like the completion of the escalation as he takes on the Global High Table and meets his match in Donnie Yen’s Caine, the first assassin who seems like he poses a real threat to John. When the two of them have their final showdown at the end of the epic, John triumphs, but he also appears to succumb to a gunshot wound.
Chapter 4 is careful to leave his fate ambiguous, but this is the first time in the series that it felt like there might not be more story to tell. John had come to rest, and it seemed possible that Reaves, in particular, might be willing to leave him there.
How long can Keanu Reaves do this?
Reaves, who has put his body on the line time and time again for these movies, is not getting any younger. He’s been open about how much he’s aging, and how hard these movies are on his body. Chapter 4 features what seems like an endless tumble down a massive set of stairs. It really seemed like Reaves was willing to give it all with the almost explicit understanding that this would be the last time.
I don’t doubt that one of the most physically gifted and committed actors of all time will be able to make magic happen for this fifth installment, but at some point, we’re going to run up against the hard realities of age. If Chapter 4 wasn’t the installment where everyone decided to walk away before things got really sad, is there a point where that will be the case?
Every John Wick movie is good
It’s really hard to maintain a good franchise. Bad movies just happen, because good movies are really, really hard to make. Not every John Wick movie is perfect, but it’s striking that there is basically no consensus around which one is the best. For my money, the excess of Chapter 4 takes the cake, but opinions vary.
The scariest outcome for John Wick 5 is that the movie is just not very good. It might not even be bad, but there might be cracks around the edges that indicate that this franchise is no longer capable of thrilling the way it once did.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe achieved something that seemed almost impossible when they released Infinity War and Endgame in back-to-back years. They had introduced dozens of characters, and they found a way to bring all of them together in a way that was satisfying to fans of all levels.
Then, because there was still money to be made, they kept going for six more years. Now, we’ve got Doomsday and Secret Wars coming, and it’s becoming clearer every day that Marvel should have quit while they were ahead.
John Wick is ahead right now, but it’s only a matter of time before the franchise exhausts the people who once loved it. John Wick 5 could be great, but if they’re not going to quit following Chapter 4, I think it’s fair to ask when they will.
