John Wick 4 (2023)

***spoilers for all 4 John Wick films below!!!!***

‘ “John Wick.  Loving husband.” ‘

Watching this movie is like playing a video game on god mode.  Actually, no, because god-mode is boring.  This was more like playing a game for the first time, and somehow getting further and further into the story without getting a scratch.  And the longer this goes on, the more unbelievable it is, and yet that’s what make it such a thrill – this can’t really be happening, but it is!  This fourth installment in the John Wick series finds our favourite suited assassin on the run from the latest emissary of The Table – The Marquis – who is on a mission to kill not just John himself, but the very idea of him.

The action, and this has been true throughout the John Wick series, is perfectly balanced between balletic and brutal.  The choreography is faultless, flowing and inventive, yet not afraid to take a breath when we need it.  Donnie Yen brings every ounce of his experience and skill to the role of Caine, and Rina Sawayama was impressive as Akira, showing genuine screen presence and willingness to throw herself into the action. She also did an excellent job on the theme-song for the film, Eye for an Eye. The cast are strong throughout, with Laurence Fishburne and Ian McShane returning with casual brillance to their roles of The Bowery King and Winston, respectively.

The cinematography is similarly spectacular.   That breath-taking, birds-eye sequence inside the abandoned Paris apartment; John’s run-in with the locals in the Champs-Elyssee traffic; that absolutely heart pounding, heart wrenching climb up the steps to the Sacre-Coeure.  I needed a nap after watching this.  And the suits in this movie!  I’m not sure if this is some Peaky-Blinders effect, but everyone in this film is astonishingly well turned-out.   Even the henchmen are suited and booted.  Though the Marquis, not surprisingly, has the pick of the bunch. 

With its portrayal of violence, the film does an wonderful job of having its cake and eating it.  Yes – it’s highly-choreographed.  Yes – it’s unbelievable, almost to the point of absurdity.  Yes – it’s baroque and self-indulgent.  But violence itself is all of these things: self-aggrandising, bombastic, both too-complex and too-simple at the same time.  The story is very deliberate, and exceptionally precise, in the way it presents these elements.  Of course, you’re more than welcome to switch off your brain and simply watch the fur fly, but this film and its predecessors are too intelligent and too full of intention to be dismissed as just dumb action.  This film has a lot to say about friendship, loyalty, autonomy and the nature of violence itself.

Whatever the nay-sayers say, the violence here really does look like it hurts.  John spends half this film getting hit, shot, slashed and stabbed-at, then picking himself up off the ground.  He isn’t a super hero.  Just a man of will.  Perhaps that’s all violence is.  A willingness to do whatever is takes to make the other person bleed. Or die. Which means taking hits yourself as well.  How much punishment will you endure in order to punish someone else?  The idea ripples through Keanu Reeve’s perfectly understated, ego-free performance.  He shares a lot of screen time with other characters; always happy to let other people do the talking and the deal-making.  But that leads to the question: how much free-will does John have?  Is he just a victim of circumstance.  Or someone who made bad choices?  Is he a moral man?  Should we feel for him?  What does he really want, after all?  

The main criticism of action movies is that they use violence as a means to solve problems.  But, it’s worth pointing out that the high point of John’s life – as we have seen it – is his dead wife sending him a puppy.  Because – and these films are very, very clear about this – violence only begets more violence.  By the end of the first John Wick movie, John is drawn back into a world of death and violence he spent years trying to escape.  And his wife remains just as dead as ever.  By the end of John Wick 2, his quest for vengeance has left him with nothing but a price on his head.  John Wick 3: Parabellum concludes with John getting shot and left for dead by one of the few friends he had left in the world.  Every choice John made has pushed him further on an endless downward spiral, hurting himself and anyone who comes into contact with him.  Violence is this world has consequences.

Consequences.  Poor John.  Is he really dead?  At first I thought not – this is John Wick!  But, then, wasn’t the whole film really just him saying goodbye?  I realised only afterwards that when John asks Winston ‘Will you take me home?’, he isn’t asking for a lift. He is telling Winston where he wants to be buried.  And the more you look back on what you’ve just seen, the more inevitable John’s death becomes.  Caine is a wonder, but there’s no way a blind man could out-shoot John Wick.  John wanted Caine to live, and to maybe get a shot at the Marquis while he was at it.  We should have known from the start, from that very first scene.  John alone.  Fixed single-mindedly on violence.  Is the King bringing John his work suit?  Or his burial suit?  It is the tragedy of John Wick that they are one and the same.  I make my home be my gallows.

Perhaps John was only ever fighting to die on his own terms.  Fighting so that in dying well, he could perhaps redeem a life that was not well lived.  Ultimately, John accepted the consequences of his actions.   No longer hunted or – more importantly, a hunter – John dies a free man, and in so doing frees others. Whether you think his death is actual or just metaphorical, there can be no doubt that our John is finally at rest. 

What did you think?  Do you think watching or not watching the first three movies would affect enjoyment of this one?  Would you like to see a sequel/prequel?  Do you know where the Marquis got his suits from?  As ever, let me know!

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

***spoilers below!***

‘Remember, Puss.  Death comes for us all.’

Like most people, I imagined that a Puss in Boots-based movie would be a pleasant bit of fluff designed to keep the kids quiet for a couple of hours.  Sometimes, it’s good to be wrong. Because the anarchic, self-aware and surprisingly profound story of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish makes this little gem of a movie a true spiritual successor to The Greatest Sequel in Movie History – Shrek 2.     

But, as usual, I’m getting ahead of myself.  Our story begins with our favourite whiskered hero throwing himself into yet another death-defying scenario for the benefit of some grateful townsfolk.  But despite his victory in a beautifully rendered battle with a wood-giant, poor Puss is unceremoniously crushed to death by a rogue church bell.  But fret not.  For Puss, like all noble felines, has nine lives to play with.   He therefore emerges from his latest death with no more concern than we would give to a medium-sized hangover. 

However, once the local doctor/barber/witch-finder has done some quick maths, he points out that Puss has now been killed no less than eight times.  And that means his next death will be for keeps.  As he starts to realise the seriousness of his situation, Puss makes a decent attempt at peaceful retirement.  But when by chance he hears of a fallen star that will give the finder a single wish, our hero brushes off his hat and boots, and embarks upon a quest to get his swamp back.  No – sorry!  To get his nine lives back.  Along the way he finds companions old and new, battles enemies mortal and otherwise, and finally discovers what life is really all about.

I do get a bit nervous when I see an animated movie with a cast list stuffed with famous names.  Screen acting and voice acting are really very different skills, and without strong vocal work, an animated story like this can never really take off.  Happily, the The Last Wish cast all deliver the goods.  First praise has to go to Harvey Guillen, who was wonderful as dear Perrito. It’s always tricky to be the earnest character, especially in a film as self-aware as this one, but his determined optimism – at first played for laughs – emerges as a genuine source of resilience in an unfeeling and perilous world.  (Yes, I would like to be his friend.) Antonio Banderas has definitely been working on his growl, and throws himself into his musical number with gusto.  Salma Hayek was an excellent foil to Puss, helped by some understated but very effective character design.  The movie avoids entirely that awful trend of sticking boobs on a non-human character and deciding that makes them female.  Instead, it is gestures, expressions, and movement which convey a sense of the feminine or masculine. That, and the occasional, exceptional beard.  While the films visuals generally tend towards the expressive rather than realistic, in this area, a less-is-more approach works wonders.  

Of course, there is no such thing as a decent quest without a decent baddie. Shrek had Lord Farquaad, and then the iconic Fairy Godmother, but Jack Horner is honestly one of the most brilliantly, relentlessly unpleasant baddies I’ve ever seen on screen.   He is entirely without merit, charm, or redeeming feature.  Unendingly, grindingly grasping in his pursuit of any and all magical relics, we might start to wonder if there is some larger aim to all of this?  Some reason behind all the de-horned unicorns? All those mangled henchmen?  Nope.  Jack wants all the magic in the world just so that no one else can have it.  It’s so bleak!  So pointless!  So…depressingly believable.  Is this some comment on end-stage Capitalism?  Perhaps a more pointed criticism of Hollywood’s increasing obsession with Intellectual Property?  Or is Jack just the anti -Puss?  What you are left with when a person refuses ever to learn, to change, to care at all?  

Because for all the lush, inventive visuals, pacy story-telling, and flashes of Shrek-ish humour, The Last Wish is at heart a rather serious tale.  Which involves our Puss becoming a rather serious character. He learns – very slowly – that everyone has to grow up, and everybody dies.  And the only thing that makes life worth living is finding people to care about.   

That does sound a bit much now I’ve written it out, but this animated cat in a fairytale world honestly shows more character development than you’d see in a dozen real-live leading men.   Puss spends a lot of time running from the past, from commitment, even from Death.  But he does eventually learn to admit his mistakes.  He apologies to the people he has hurt.  He looks inward and realises that he needs to make a change.  In short, he grows up.   That doesn’t mean losing any sense of joy or potential (looking at you, Jack).  It means making real connections and fighting to keep them.   So finally, in a spaghetti-western inspired showdown, our animated feline friend fights Death itself.  Puss doesn’t win of course, but he does choose to keep on fighting.  Best result you can hope for, really.

It is a surprisingly down-beat ending, in a way.  No wish for anyone, no easy solutions here.  Make the most of what you have, because while you can’t choose what happens to you, you can chose how you react to it.  Look around you, and within you, and really think about what is worth fighting for.  Loss is part of what defines us, but it’s never the whole story.  Death is inevitable, but first we can live. It’s heady stuff!  But all in all it feels bittersweet, not melancholy, because I think Puss’s best days are still in front of him.

What did you think?  Were you caught unawares by the surprisingly intense storyline?  How did this film compare to the first Puss in Boots movie?  Would you like to have a drink with the surprisingly charming Death?   As ever, let me know!