John Wick – All Four Movies Ranked
John Wick Chapter 4 is here. And now that all four movies are out, let’s rank them to see which is best. Don’t read this if you haven’t watched the movies yet as it may contain spoilers. You’ve been warned. Here we go.
#4 John Wick Chapter 2
It’s rare that a sequel exceeds the original (although it does happen). John Wick Chapter two is not one of those cases. It’s not a bad movie. It has much of what we love about the original movie in it. And we also get to delve a little deeper into the criminal underground that we all know and love John Wick movies for. However, it’s mostly a rehash of the original without a lot of its own unique flair. And still not quite as fantastic as the original.
#3 John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Chapter three was a phenomenal movie. It has perhaps the most riveting beginning of the four films, throwing us right into the action and seeing what a world where EVERYONE is out to get John Wick looks like. Of course, John Wick can handle it. He’s John Wick. Of course, the hunt for the elder is epic, and we get to go all the way to the very heart of the criminal underground in this one, and see John Wick pushed to the very brink of death (multiple times). It also boasts incredible action – perhaps the best action sequences in all four movies. Although this movie is second to last on this list, it’s a solid film, and only points to how great this franchise really is.
#2 John Wick
It’s hard to beat the original John Wick. At this point it’s iconic, and about as close to perfect as an action film can be. And yet, there’s one film that may do it even better.
#1 John Wick Chapter 4
It’s hard to improve on a fantastic film that starts a franchise. But John Wick, arguably, does just that. This movie gets everything right. It’s more, bigger, and better, and that works for John Wick. At this point, the John Wick formula (if that’s what you can call a guy fighting constantly in a suit) has been well established and the filmmakers can take full advantage of that.
What really sets this film apart form the others, even the first, is its story. It actually has a pretty good story. The original John Wick – for all its greatness – kind of didn’t. It was a scenario movie. What happens when you take the world’s fiercest assassin’s dog away from him shortly after his wife dies? That’s all that movie is really about.
John Wick Chapter 4, on the other hand, really is telling a story. It’s a story about brotherhood between characters whose backgrounds we hardly know, and yet we somehow care about what happens to them. It’s a story about one man’s drive to find freedom, so that he can maybe prove to himself that he’s more than a killer.
Ultimately, it’s about how clinging to life is the surest way to lose it.
John Wick Chapter 4 is the ultimate John Wick movie.
