Shot of the Movie: John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

This article is one of a series - Shot of the Movie - and may contain spoilers and graphic content.

"Just have fun out there." - Winston

From film noir to neon noir, I thought I'd jump ahead 80 years and talk about John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023). The entire John Wick series is undeniably beautiful. (Which sounds odd given the fact that it's a franchise built around killing). But with it's breathtaking vistas, wide shots, historical landmarks, iconic architecture, and excellent use of complimentary colors, every moment is a feast for the eyes.

That all being said, it can be difficult to pick a single "Shot of the Movie," when so many shots seem to qualify. So, when everything is great, how do you choose? My solution: look for the part that's the most fun.

Film Overview

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) is the fourth installment of the John Wick franchise. This universe follows former assassin, John Wick, as he's pulled back into the killing game. The first movie is about revenge. Over the next three movies, John becomes "excommunicado," meaning there's a bounty on his head and nowhere safe to hide. While he attempts to remove the bounty (by dealing "hands on" with those who have the power to make that call) by chapter four, John has become a problem. But in this installment, he is one that the film's new villain, the Marquis, aims to solve.

The Marquis sees the idea of John Wick, a rogue who refuses to follow the rules of The Table, to be problematic. It's a problem that could lead to anarchy. In all fairness, he's not wrong. If a world full of killers refuses to abide by agreed upon guidelines, it's only a matter of time before chaos would ensue and the empire, itself, would collapse.

But I digress. In this last chapter, John seeks to dual the Marquis directly - challenging the Marquis to single combat. Should John lose, John is dead and the Marquis has restored order. Should the Marquis lose, John lives, and the Killing World leaves him alone (as he wants, and has wanted, since Chapter One).

Context Scene

In leading up to the fight, the Marquis places a $40 million bounty on John's head, enticing all of Paris's underworld to try to kill John before a duel at dawn.

John is chased by assassins through Paris, and finds his way inside a French residence in need of some serious reconstruction. (Looking at you, giant hole in the floor). As John fights baddies through the landings, he gets caught on one of the stairways by a team one floor above him. As he dispatches these killers, one is killed at the top of the stairs. As he falls, his weapon, a modified shotgun with flashlight, falls with him. The light rests where he fell, and illuminates John Wick's actions on the background wall.

This is the Shot of the Movie.

The Shot of the Movie

I think I've said this in posts before, but when I watch films analytically, I like to ask myself a lot of "why" questions:

• Why are we focusing the camera here?
• Why did a producer order so many lamps?
• Why did that stunt person die like that?

In the case of John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), the last question is the most salient.

The image below proceeds our Shot of the Movie by a few frames. As you can see, John's on the stairwell, taking bullets to his thankfully bullet proof suit. He mostly obscures the killer's gun light.

Then, after the killer dies, the gun remains on the ground, with the flashlight illuminating all of John's actions.

Now everything that John does is captured like shadow puppets on the wall behind him. This is fun on so many levels.

1. It literally makes John larger than life. As I mentioned in my Shot of the Movie for Laura, visual story telling, particularly visual metaphors, helps move moments quickly up my list. Using (1) light, (2) an intermediary object, and (3) a deliberate and solid background, allows for the object's shadow to be much larger than it is in real life. So, applying this technique, all of John's actions look as big, bad, and foreboding as he is. His shadow is literally no longer human, which brings us to the next point . . .
2. The Baba Yaga lives on screen. Throughout the John Wick series, John is referred to as the "Baba Yaga." While Wickian Mythology differs from traditional Slavic Folklore, they have one key commonality regarding the Baba Yaga: where the creature goes, death follows. Now, if we consider that this is a story traditionally told to children, and consider that the prime medium for children's stories is shadow puppets, we get a chance to literally see the Baba Yaga as his audience normally sees him.
3. It is the start of over two minutes of amazing cinematography and choreography. If I were to write about "Scenes of the Movie", rather than "Shots of the Movie", the scene that hold's today's pick would be my go to. It's dimly lit, which allows the chapter's new weapon (aka "Dragon's Breath") to light up the scene with each shot. It's filmed above 14 foot walls, so we can see the action continuously from one room to the next, making a clear homage to videogame play. It's also shot continuously, meaning no cuts or edits appear through the action. Stunts are highly creative, and perfectly staged, always taking into account camera location, including blowing characters into mirrors and up toward the camera, itself.

There are so many smart choices throughout this scene, it feels rude to only list a few, but they all start with an adaptation of shadow puppetry and an homage to videogame play, making it clear director Chad Stahelski and the actors and stunt men of John Wick: Chapter 4, were indeed, just having fun out there.