10 Best Movies Of 2023 (So Far)
3. John Wick: Chapter 4
Despite the third John Wick setting a seemingly impossible standard for balletically brutal action, Chapter 4 somehow topped it against all odds.
A 169-minute globetrotting epic that largely earns its concerningly expanded runtime, the latest sequel doubles down on its pulpy world-building and, most importantly, gives audiences a super-sized serving of eye-meltingly gorgeous, blood-soaked mayhem.
Keanu Reeves gives arguably his most compelling performance as Wick yet in a film that one-ups the carnage to surely-can't-be-outdone levels, while Donnie Yen steals every scene he's in as the blind, wise-cracking assassin Caine.
It'll certainly be interesting to see where the franchise goes from here, but if this does indeed end up being the linear swan song for Reeves' assassin, he's ducked out with one hell of a masterful finale.
Action cinema is rarely this exciting, technically impeccable, and darkly hilarious all at once, ensuring Chad Stahelski has cemented himself as an all-time great filmmaker in the genre.
Considering this writer thought the original John Wick might score 0% on Rotten Tomatoes before release - c'mon, it did sound ridiculous on paper - it's staggering just how far it's come.