There are film franchises that need to know when to stop, before they go into decay. And that’s the case with John Wick, which now has its fourth film: John Wick 4 – Baba Yaga, which opens today. The good fight and action scenes, which were great attractions in the initial trilogy, are no longer new and now these sequences drag on and on, in battles that seem to take at least 25 to 30 minutes.
It is not uncommon for someone to say that a feature film of the “head” type drama is dull or that nothing happens in films of this type. But the problem with the new John Wick is that too much happens, which, in the end, is the cause of the film’s monotony, paradoxical as that may sound. “The movie doesn’t stop for a minute”. In this case, affirmation is not a virtue.
Let’s get to the story, which is not very different from previous adventures: John Wick continues to be pursued and, again, he’s on the run, passing through places like New York, Berlin, Paris and Osaka. This time, he fights the ruthless underworld boss Marquis of Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), who has entire alliances after him.
The biggest problem is far from Keanu Reeves, who plays the hitman for the fourth time. The star turns 58 in great shape and is doing very well, thank you. But the film, although it has very well choreographed fight scenes – which has not been new for a while -, has its main problem in the script itself, which, for those who are not very – very much! – familiar with the story, it will get pretty confusing.
In addition, much of the film sounds anachronistic, such as the accents of the villains, who are Russian or from anywhere in Eastern Europe, where the ghost of communism that terrorized the USA lived. And is there anything more old-fashioned than the alpha male capable of defeating 200 men at once, in a show of shooting and beating? Schwarzenegger and Stallone have been doing this for 40 years! The women, when they appear, seem to be there just to fulfill the female quota.
And there are still the technical issues, since the film appeals to the obvious to fulfill its objectives: if it is to give an air of mystery, it appeals to an omnipresent soundtrack and in a higher tone; if it’s to give a dark look, remove the light and we’ll go with a lot of dark images; if you’re going to have a mysterious conversation, get the actors to act with half-closed eyes and whispering… and then, clichés and easy solutions accumulate.
If this new John Wick had an hour less – it’s 2h40 long – maybe it would work as entertainment. But, as it turned out, there is no one who doesn’t leave the cinema tired. More tired than the protagonist himself.
On display at Metha Glauber Rocha; UCI Shopping da Bahia, Barra and Paralela; Cinépolis Bela Vista, Salvador Norte and Parque Shopping da Bahia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdmGK4wxzQ
