John Wick: Chapter 4
Lionsgate | Release Date: March 24, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 58 Critic Reviews
Positive:
51
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
IndieWireRafael MotamayorMar 14, 2023
The “John Wick” saga has changed and evolved throughout the years, For this film, there is no denying how it has made Chad Stahelski one of our best action filmmakers, and how the franchise gave Keanu yet another career-redefining role. It’s been a wild ride, and one of the best and most consistent movie series ever. No matter where the roads lead, however, “I’m thinking John Wick is back.” Read full review
100
UproxxMike RyanMar 13, 2023
So if this is it for John Wick, Chapter 4, improbably, goes out as easily the best of the series and a contender for one of the best pure action movies in recent history if not ever made. It’s so good I really kind of hope they end on this. I truly don’t think it can be topped. Read full review
100
The PlaylistSimon ThompsonMar 13, 2023
Pure power, John Wick: Chapter 4 is as exhilarating as it is exhausting. With this wildly satisfying world tour de force, Reeves’ Wick transcends icon status delivering the perfect bone-crunching crescendo to one of the great action franchises in cinema history. It’s pure gold. Read full review
100
IGNTom JorgensenMar 13, 2023
John Wick: Chapter 4’s incredibly staged set pieces, engaging ensemble, and stylish production design coalesce into a modern action masterclass. Read full review
95
Film ThreatAlan NgMar 15, 2023
John Wick: Chapter 4 is the return to the greatness we associate with the franchise, particularly after the misstep that is Chapter 3. It is easily my favorite movie of 2023 so far and begs for repeat viewings. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithMar 23, 2023
The purity is admirable. The excitement is notable. “Chapter 4” may run nearly three hours, but when we’re having this much fun calling out “Oof!” and “Get him!” the evening passes in breezy delight. Read full review
90
Rolling StoneDavid FearMar 23, 2023
We came into this series tickled by the element of surprise. And we leave Chapter 4 with the distinct feeling of satisfaction. Read full review
90
ScreenCrushMatt SingerMar 21, 2023
This thing ain’t a “chapter.” It’s a whole damn book — a glorious, nightmarish, biblical compendium of all manners of asskickery. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckMar 13, 2023
Bigger, badder, bolder, longer, and featuring nearly more spectacular set pieces than one movie can comfortably handle, this epic action film practically redefines the stakes. Read full review
90
SlashfilmJacob HallMar 13, 2023
If more world-building, bigger action, and a deeper embrace of what its leading man does well all perk up your ears, you know what you need to know. As someone who has been in the tank for these movies for nearly a decade now, the fourth film is everything I wanted out of these movies. Yeah, I'm thinking he's back. Read full review
88
ObserverDylan RothMar 24, 2023
If you’re even the least bit susceptible to the spectacle of violence, then John Wick is irresistible, and Chapter 4 is its most spectacular entry. Read full review
88
ABC NewsPeter TraversMar 24, 2023
Wick-haters find only monotony in this carnival of carnage, but the rest of us will revel in the fourth chapter’s state-of-the-art action fireworks led by a hypnotically-Zen Keanu Reeves as the hitman who treats kung fu fighting like a dance tableau. Unmissable? Hell, yeah! Read full review
88
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiMar 23, 2023
Four tremendous films and nine years into the adrenaline-fueled, Reeves-led action series, director Chad Stahelski has yet to let his franchise noticeably dip in quality. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonMar 22, 2023
Each installment saw an increase in runtime, and “Chapter 4″ clocks in at a massive 169 minutes. Not one second of it is wasted; this is wall-to-wall carnage of the finest, most entertaining order. Read full review
88
The Associated PressMark KennedyMar 21, 2023
The fourth installment is more stylish, more elegant and more bonkers — kind of like Paris itself. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenMar 21, 2023
Directed once again by Chad Stahelski, the one-time stunt man who has become a first-rate visual stylist and master of pacing over the years of directing “Wicks,” “Chapter 4” is dazzling. Read full review
88
USA TodayBrian TruittMar 21, 2023
John Wick: Chapter 4 delivers on the ballet of bullets and fiesta of firearms you expect while also successfully showcasing the dynamic, reluctantly unretired title hitman as a real underdog. Read full review
88
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMar 20, 2023
If you are also an acolyte in the church of chopsocky, samurai swordplay and gunslinging gangsters, you could do a lot worse than John Wick: Chapter 4. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to do better. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMar 14, 2023
Trust me. It was worth the wait. Stahelski and writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch have distilled the mythology-heavy approach of the last couple chapters with the streamlined action of the first film, resulting in a final hour here that stands among the best of the genre. Read full review
88
TheWrapLena WilsonMar 13, 2023
Even when it drags — 169 minutes is a lot of time to fill, even for this masterful crew — the film gamely mixes comedy, action, and drama into one truly satisfying cocktail. Read full review
86
Paste MagazineDom SinacolaMar 22, 2023
Everything on screen is stupendous. This is what we want, to watch John Wick murder the whole world, forever and ever amen. Read full review
83
The Film StageConor O'DonnellMar 22, 2023
If it threatens too much of a good thing, Chapter 4 benefits from a seemingly infinite well of creative ferocity that’s impeccably paced. And while one could belabor the ludicrous pratfalls and convoluted inner workings of the universe at large, the film acquits itself just fine with an Ian McShane proclamation: “Just have fun out there.” Read full review
83
ColliderRoss BonaimeMar 15, 2023
John Wick: Chapter 4 is a goofy, ridiculous, three-hours of fun that manages to not overstay its welcome. Stahelski continues to find ways to keep this series from getting stale, and Chapter 4 pushes the ambition to the brink. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattMar 13, 2023
As Wick carves a path of stoic destruction across several continents, the series' longtime director Chad Stahelski, once Reeves' Matrix stand-in and longtime stunt coordinator, gets down to the business of what he loves best: creative kills, far-flung zip codes, and incalculable body counts. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyMar 24, 2023
Even at its nearly three-hour runtime, John Wick: Chapter 4 commits so nobly to its self-seriousness that it almost borders into camp. And yet, the franchise possesses both the self-confidence and the ingenuity to earn its boldness. Read full review
80
NMEJesse HassengerMar 23, 2023
Stahelski may traffic in excess, but at least he understands it: how choreography, performance and style can make over-the-top spectacle cohere into pleasurably overwhelming action fizz, rather than congealing into a sweaty special effects overload. Read full review
80
Little White LiesKambole CampbellMar 23, 2023
Chapter 4 is an overwhelming undertaking, but also a welcome doubling-down on everything fun about this series, a thrilling counter-point to its dehumanised, big budget Hollywood contemporaries, that also serves as a welcome ode to martial artists and stunt performers. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Angelica Jade BastienMar 23, 2023
Chapter 4 is blissfully entertaining, full of pratfalls and acting turns that lead to the audience swelling with oohs, aahs, and yelps. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyMar 23, 2023
It’s not world-building; it’s world-sprawling. Imagine Harry Potter. But with head-stomping. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 23, 2023
There is simply and once again Reeves, the axis who centers this franchise with his grave sincerity, beatific glow and mesmerizing, rooted fighting style, with its heavy-footed solidity and surprising suppleness. No matter what happens, nothing ever feels as poignantly at stake here as Reeves’s own ravaged, beautiful, aging body. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyMar 22, 2023
Even at practically Kubrickian length, though, the lockstep slaughter barely gives you pause for breath. It’s a barrage, and a blast. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellMar 21, 2023
The exorbitant running time may end up testing the patience of many, but 'John Wick: Chapter 4' does exactly what the franchise does best, but somehow on an even grander and more gripping scale. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 20, 2023
John Wick: Chapter 4 is not a great piece of cinema, exactly, but it delivers on what it promises, time and again. Read full review
80
Screen RantPatrice WitherspoonMar 15, 2023
Packed with great technical achievements and sequences that will keep viewers on the edges of their seats, John Wick: Chapter 4 is, without a doubt, a great time at the movies. Read full review
80
Total FilmKim Taylor-FosterMar 14, 2023
A full-on fourquel whose attempts to up the action ante yield frequently blistering results. Read full review
80
BBCCaryn JamesMar 13, 2023
Running at 2 hours and 49 minutes, it is bigger than the previous films in every way ­– not better or worse, just more. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanMar 13, 2023
The movie is conceived as a knowingly overstuffed gift to “John Wick” fans, and on that level it succeeds. Read full review
80
The Daily BeastNick SchagerMar 13, 2023
More turns out to be just about right in this case, with the film offering up such an onslaught of brutal, breakneck action that it’s easy to forgive its less compelling narrative excesses. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerMar 23, 2023
Even in the hail of bullets, shrieking needle drops, and blinding lighting effects, John Wick: Chapter 4 still works as a cohesive, linear film with a strangely philosophical heart. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmMar 28, 2023
Returning director Chad Stahelski not only gives the fight sequences the time and space they deserve (while thankfully also pulling back on the gun fetishism that had begun to take over the series), he and cinematographer Dan Laustsen bathe the proceedings in a color scheme that could be described as “nocturnal menace.” Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 27, 2023
There’s no question that John Wick: Chapter 4 is really good for what it is. The only bad thing is what it is. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 22, 2023
Somewhere inside the utterly unnecessary, bloated running time for John Wick IV, there’s a brilliant, stripped-down, 100-minute classic of a drive-in action film, where the admittedly breathtaking action sequences don’t grind on for so long that they actually become borderline tedious. Read full review
75
Original-CinJim SlotekMar 20, 2023
A circus of violence, it’s a noisy, non-stop combination of dance and Loony Tunes-worthy manic cartoonishness. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangMar 22, 2023
Even by series standards, it’s an astonishingly staged and sustained panorama of violence, much of it mediated (and attenuated) by the usual inventive weaponry and bulletproof menswear, and meted out by international action stars including Donnie Yen and Hiroyuki Sanada. Read full review
70
The New YorkerRichard BrodyMar 21, 2023
In short, the last half hour or so of the movie’s nearly three-hour span is giddily intense, swoony, swashbuckling, and sensational yet superficial fun. Right after I saw the movie, I couldn’t stop talking about that ending. It makes the rest of the movie worth sitting through. Read full review
70
The AtlanticDavid SimsMar 16, 2023
The director, Chad Stahelski, has been with the series since its inception and is clearly working with his biggest budget yet, so he compensates for any story weakness by serving up a seven-course meal of set pieces. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubBrent SimonMar 23, 2023
The film illustrates the inherent difficulties in successfully serving multiple (narrative, in this case) masters. In the end, maybe that’s fitting for the John Wick franchise, an entertaining and somewhat unlikely series long poised between the expansive and the intimate. Read full review
65
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMar 21, 2023
Clocking in at a severely bloated 165 minutes, Chapter 4 is both a thrill and a slog, an all-you-can-eat buffet that insists on stuffing your guts before it spills them. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 27, 2023
John Wick Chapter 4 has its high points, including a well-earned ending, but it’s characterized by an exhaustive repetitiveness that diminishes what was so good and unique about the first two installments of the series. The time has come to put John Wick to rest. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 23, 2023
Too much of “John Wick 4″ mistakes grandiloquence for excitement. But yes, as bloody diversion goes, the audience gets its money’s worth. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 15, 2023
As the picture drifts through its middle acts, the thought occurs that a little less movie might have made a much punchier, pithier and more satisfying film. Read full review
60
CNNBrian LowryMar 23, 2023
A more-is-less epic that showcases the dazzling stunt work for which the franchise is known while piling on the action to near-exhausting extremes. Read full review
60
EmpireAlex GodfreyMar 14, 2023
If you’re not up for a film that’s nearly three hours of wall-to-wall fighting, this chapter might get on your wick. That fighting, though, is a bone-crunching, butt-clenching masterclass. Read full review
60
Time OutOlly RichardsMar 14, 2023
It’s almost churlish to complain that some of the carnage is too basically carnage-y, but at 169 minutes there’s a lot of it to sit through. That running time might test the casual fan, but for Wick devotees this character’s battle through assassin hell will be close to action-movie heaven. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonMar 13, 2023
Whether it’s Skarsgard’s cartoonish villain or the director’s showy nods to Lawrence Of Arabia and Sergio Leone, Chapter 4 plays dress-up rather than feeling like a legitimately rich, involving epic. Read full review
58
ConsequenceGregory LawrenceMar 13, 2023
Watching John Wick: Chapter 4 sometimes felt like watching an above-average assembly cut. At an unwieldy two hours and 49 minutes, your eye will immediately be drawn to what cuts through the noise — and there are plenty of these moments. But “moments” does not a well-told “movie” make. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithMar 13, 2023
In the gradual development and expansion of the Wickaverse, the filmmakers seem to have lost the thread of what makes the first and, at times, second film in the series work so well. Read full review
40
The GuardianCharles BramescoMar 13, 2023
Those who appreciated the original for its brutal, sinewy agility have another thing coming: a lumbering, stultifying gargantua of a film willing to kill everything except its darlings. Read full review
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