Fans of the John Wick franchise by this point know what to expect heading into a new John Wick film. A story with little room for character and more for worldbuilding, action, and stunt choreography that bedazzles the mind, and a killer soundtrack to boot. And yet, even with the film not attempting to shake that formula up in any way, Director Chad Stahelski and his team somehow manage to go beyond any expectations in the fourth entry of the John Wick series.

The film picks up where Chapter 3 leaves off and we are introduced to a new villain: The Marquis of the High Table played by Bill Skarsgard. If Chapter 4 is your first John Wick film, the storyline will certainly leave you confused at moments when characters speak of past events. Yet as fascinating as the world of assassins can be, the primary function of the story and the world is to set up large action set pieces. To that end, we are also introduced to the characters of Caine and Mr. Nobody, both of whom work separately to oppose John at every step of the way as he travels from country to country in an almost globetrotting action experience.

Indeed, every cog that works in making this movie functions to serve the action, and for good reason. The action on display here is unparalleled, every interaction feels like a carefully crafted dance of swords, fists, guns, nunchucks, and the occasional pencil (because of course). I have rarely, if ever, seen action play out on screen with such fluidity. It does not hurt that the camera work and the lighting are also exceptional, creating scenery that oozes a personality only John Wick can have while also paying homage to action films of the past. The movie has clever ways of paying respect to action films from Hong Kong and Japan (after all, the cast also features Donnie Yen and Hiroyuki Sanada) and even has an incredible reference to The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. At no point, though, do the references feel heavy-handed.

Then there's the music, every scene makes a point to amplify the stylish hyper-violence through the use of synth-wave and EDM tracks. All of it works together to provide a hyper realistic experience that the franchise has slowly veered towards ever since the very first film. The increase in stylish hyper-violence may disappoint some. Even the story at no point is worried about being character-focused. And in the moments where we do get some story, the movie starts to feel like a drag. Thankfully, moments like that are few and far between, and once they serve their purpose, we are thrust back into electrifying pulpy violence.

Speaking of action, it still boggles my mind how Keanu Reeves and the entire crew are able to come up with such well-choreographed action. If you have followed the news regarding this movie, you may have heard of a certain overhead sequence involving a very bright shotgun. That alone made most of the movie worth it, and everything that preceded or followed it was also an incredibly fun time. Those who are not fans of action films or are looking for action that is grounded in reality, however, might find themselves disappointed. The rest of us, though, are basking in the glory of the creative force behind this mesmerizing experience.

Raian watches movies that his local movie theaters don't bring