JOHN WICK 4 (USA, 2023)

Oh sweet Baba Yaga it's finally time for the almighty JW to unleash his fury upon us in the final (?) chapter of the Wick-iverse, directed by Chad Stahelski and starring Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, and Ian McShane. 
>>John Wick 4 Trailer<<

Outside of the pod we've clocked Zombieland 2, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, The Menu and Simon finally put The Last Of Us to bed and dusted off The Mandalorian.

Over In Trailersville
Bholaa Official Trailer | Ajay Devgn | Tabu | Bholaa In IMAX 3D
Blood & Gold | Offizieller Teaser | Netflix
One Ranger (2023) Official Trailer - Thomas Jane, John Malkovich, Dean Jagger
Black Lotus | Officiële trailer (2023)

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Hit. Mr. Week, I want to kill you. You want to kill him? Go see the Baba Yaga. going to need it. I'm going beyond fighting without fighting. Always trying to play Skeeto I can't dodge this. Welcome to Dodge This Action Movies Unleashed Season 2 Episode 4. Oh god, it's John Fogel, it's John Wook, oh my god, it's John Wook 4. My name is Simon Fielder, I'm coming to you hot through the internet, fibre optic cables from Amsterdam, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and joining me as ever from the United States of South London, it's my good friend Matthew Highton. you come in with such energy, I thought I'd go whoop whoop. And I hated it instantly. Yeah. I don't want to say we should start again, but that's staying in. And I think we'll all learn an important lesson. Good. Good. It's the episode that I've been waiting for this whole season. And I think we've both been waiting for since we saw the trailer last year. Yeah. We finally both went to see John Wick 4 in the cinema, but sadly not sitting next to each other. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? It's still great. Different countries. But before we get to that, we've got to have a quick catch up. What have you been looking at with your eyes and ears outside of a pod land? I mean, I've been watching a lot of TV. So film-wise and podcast appropriate wise, they finally watched Zombie Len 2, Double Tap. I still haven't seen it. It's on Netflix now. Yeah. so long, I just never got around to it. Will I really like the first one, but I bloody love this. Mason like how they do zombie films. Mason Oh good. I love the first one, yeah. Will I didn't realise this. It's been 10 years apart, those films. And he said, I can't remember the director's name, but he said he wanted to do another one, but probably would leave it another 10 years. So yeah, I like that a lot. Mason Very smart actually. Will I really enjoyed it. Really enjoyed it. Really lean, fun film. I'm a big fan of the first one and also that director who I'm going to look up now because I've hit something on the tip of my tongue. Yeah, it's going to kill me as soon as you say it. This is a bit when, I've said this before, when people listen to podcasts and they're screaming, I know this! I know this! Ruben Fleischer, of course, the director of Zombieland and Zombieland 2, didn't have to look it up and cut out that part. Great knowledge, Simon. Thank you. Yeah, he's directed some other stuff. He's got, he's very, I've enjoyed, I enjoyed his visual flourishes and now that you've brought it up, I'm going to, I'm going to make it my priority to finally get around to watching it. I just, I just think it's a really like fun, no brainer of a film. And yeah, like you say, his visual flares for like use of things like text and stuff like that to make something more dynamic. It's up there with James Gunn. I really like how he did it. I thought Suicide really used its frames to its advantage. Great. And the other big action film that I saw, and I think I don't know how I missed this in the cinemas, because it's huge, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. ALICE Sure. Of course. Yeah. ALICE So great. Action sequences in it. JUSTIN Is it good? Is it a good film? ALICE It's fun. If I was a kid, I would absolutely go bananas on that. My niece, who is like four, loves it. I had the right tingles of nostalgia to make it. I think it sits very plum for me in the exact middle spot of a three-star film. I think it's exactly, yeah. It's good. It's really fun. I think they've done great with them both. I mean, the fact that there is a sequel suggests the first one must have been relatively successful, right? Is Jim Carrey in this one? Yeah. I really think Jim Carrey is two Sonic the Hedgehog movies. Well, he said he's not going to act again. So I'm kind of hoping that a robotnik is his last appearance. That's it. That's his swan song. Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Incredible scenes. He puts in such a, like I couldn't imagine anyone else. Well, I mean, I'm sure he's great in it. Yeah. I don't doubt that. Can't doubt the Kerry, can you? I saw him another great action movie called The Menu. Oh, nice. Very action heavy. Not too action packed actually. I enjoyed it. Yeah. It put me in mind of Triangle of Sadness. Is it the same person? No, it just, I feel like it's just that sort of satirising of modern life and tropes. Yeah. Yeah. I think it set out to do a thing and it did it well. However, I did see it on the same day that I saw John Wick 4. So my barometer was all over the place. Yeah. Very complimentary menu there. excited for the whole day. I can't even ever imagine doing a double bill. One John Wick 4 is three hours. I know. And the menu is coming up to two. It wasn't my choice. It just so happened that the day I went to see John Wick 4, I also went around to someone's house where they were planning a movie night. So it was just like, I couldn't be like, hi guys, I just watched John Wick 4, so can we not? Is it alright if we don't? But it was very, very enjoyable. I liked it. Finished The Last of Us. I know I'm very late on this, but. Oh, so good. That's, this will be the last time I talk about it on the vlog. Every episode I'm like, I've watched one more episode. That's it. Now I'm done. Mason You never finished a thing either, which upsets me. Cobra Kai. Will I still didn't finish Cobra Kai season two, but you said is the finest example of modern screen action ever captured. Mason Martial arts. Will On film. Mason For TV. For TV. I stand by that. Will Unbelievable. Mason I think it's up there. The final fight Maybe I should just skip ahead so that we can finally put this to rest. It's so ridiculous. It's phenomenal. Okay. Now that you call it ridiculous, I'm a bit more like, oh, I can imagine it being ridiculous. It's so well done for what it is as well. Great. I stand by it. Fair enough. One day I'll finish it. Anyway, Last of Us was great and I did remember how the first game ended. So I was like, I wonder if it will be. was, yeah. And I was like, oh wow. I forgot how morally ambiguous it is. ALICE I'm going to say it as well. Didn't like the little flashback at the beginning of the episode. It's the only thing I've not liked in the season. I thought it was unnecessary and rocked the momentum a bit too much. METE Yeah, that wasn't in the game, if I recall, right? ALICE No, it wasn't. I mean, all those little flashbacks, none of them were in the game, but they've been really well sort of positioned. But this, the series, I'd be like, I hate this bit. But I mean, I'm not going to complain because it's been an absolute masterpiece. Even then, it's a niggle. It's not a complaint. Will Barron Do we know if there's a Season 2 commissioned yet? Toby Perkins They said they were going to only do the games. So I think they have commissioned Season 2. And if people don't know the games, I have no idea how they're going to cope with Season 2. Well, not to get through. She'll say no more. So I'll save that for when season two comes out. Also, you'll like this and then you'll dislike it. Okay. I recently listened to an episode of the little known podcast, Smartless. Okay. Which Matthew doesn't know judging by his face. No I don't actually. Enormously popular podcast with three big old Hollywood lads. Who is it? It's Jason Bateman. And Sean Hayes from the old, that sitcom in the 1990s. Wow. Will and Grace. He's in Will and Grace. It's a bit of a deep cut. I didn't have Will and Grace on the tip of my tongue. Anyway, they started a podcast during COVID and I guess it's now probably one of the most popular podcasts in the world, judging by how it's been like swallowed up by a big podcast person. Just three very funny men. Yeah. Yeah. It's great. brings the guests. The other two don't know who the guest is. My point is this. On a recent episode, John Favre was the guest. I'm a big fan of his since back in the days of, you know, swingers and that. And he just talked really, he just seems like such a good dude and also talked really in depth about learning about technology and stuff and about how he had to learn loads of tech stuff to do Iron Man and then like the Lion King and then how they used the, uh, the background stuff in the Mandalorian. Star Wars game changer. Anyway, skip to the end, very long intro of me saying it made me go, I should watch Mandalorian season two. So I started watching it and- Have you not done season two yet? No, no. Cause I think I remember enjoying season one and then being like, I don't think I'm immediately desperate to watch season two. Season two is much better. That's what I heard. And then I watched episode one and I was reminded, I think, why I wasn't desperate to watch it because it's just sort of like monster of the week. Masonry It changes, it shifts very gradually. I mean, I find this with a lot of TV now, which is TV has become such a streamlined cinematic experience. Even something as big, well produced and beautiful as The Mandalorian. When you go back to that sort of 90s creature of the week format. Angus Yeah, it's that sort of serialised thing. It's where I'm like, I like these people, but not enough to be like, just hang out with there. I quite like it for just tuning in when I can. It means I'm not just tuning it up. Because I haven't watched any of season three yet, because I'm letting it build up. So I've got so many things on the go for the week at the moment. Succession just started, Yellowjackets just started. Oh boy. Unbelievably, season three of Picard is incredible. There's no chance I'm going to be watching that. I'm excited to hear that it's good. It's incredible. I think the problem for me there, I had just come off the back of Andor, so I was like, oh, Star Wars can be very... what's the opposite of serialised? Is serialised when it's a continuing story? Yes, and that's not what I mean then. Because Mandalorian felt, oh, he just goes to a planet and then the dude from Justified is there. I mean, creature of the week is the go-to term. Yeah, exactly. So it felt a bit like that. more of a serialised plot, like Andor, I think. Andor was like so no-fat, so lean. It is weird. Another reason why I'm giving it time, because again, no one wants all of Star Wars to be just Andor all the time. That's true. I think I'll dip in and out of Mandalorian season two when I'm just like in the mood for, oh, just like that little light fluffy thing and there's some great monsters, and it's like, Star Wars, it's fun. It's fun to hang out. We've talked about the Mandalorian for ages. Way too long. We should do some trailers. Let's get into some blinking trailers. Lincoln trailers. For some reason I've, I've made it PG rated, even though there's like three swears in the intro music. Okay. We got four trails to get through this week. I had to stop after four. I think there was a few more, but I was like, we don't need any more. Absolutely. Action season at the moment. Yeah. It's an embarrassment of riches that, that dry spell we had there has been immediately wet, wetted up. Feels horrible. That felt horrible. The wet season had begun. Well, okay. That's a good segue actually into the monsoon season, which they have in India, which brings us to our first trailer. Great segue. Thank you very much for a movie called Bola, which actually opened yesterday, I believe. And I did a quick Google and it is showing in Amsterdam this week. So we try and get less. How have a look of it's in the UK? to pass the reviews to find the reasonable ones that aren't a lot of people being overly excited but in a way where you can't really measure if it's actually any good. Anyway, this is a remake of another Indian movie from a different region from a few years ago called Kitey, I think, which has been on my list for ages. I haven't watched it. It looks like a mad mass entertainer that could go either way. where they love a motorbike wheel just going by someone's face. That is my takeaway now of Indian action cinema. Mason- Who doesn't love that? Kiernan- I like this. What's drawn me to this over anything we've seen recently is I don't think I've seen one of these types of big Indian blockbuster actions with what looks like it's going to be a reasonable amount of gore. It looks like it's going to be a bloody one. So I'm kind of just interested from purely that to see how that works. There's walking around with a trident. He got a trident, yeah. For some to love. Not explained. He's killing people with a trident. I don't think it's like superhero vibes, though. I think it's like he's a prisoner and he has to transport something and then there's some baddies and then he fights them. But where or how he gets a trident has lured me in. It's very much, when I said that a minute ago, I just realised it's very anchorman. Just brick. I killed a man with a trident. They don't get that in. It's complete. That is true. Yeah. on, I want to see what this type of film is like when it goes up to sort of a red band area. Just accuracy. But I mean, yeah. R The more we watch these films, the more I love, there are certain tropes that will not quit. There's like the motorbike by the wheel by the face seems to happen a lot. There's always probably all right because he's getting his ball busted as well. Just like Lev, there's all these, it's like the same film over and over. I got the captain breathing down my neck. You guys gotta bring me results. So I like it. Anyway, well maybe by next episode we'll have seen this or at least have reported back on why we haven't, or I'll have seen it and it will be three stars not worthy of the title of the podcast. All right, let's move on. We got another one. This is, I believe this a movie, but it's on Netflix. So I wasn't a hundred percent sure if it was a TV show or a movie. I'm thinking movie. It's out of Germany. It's called Blood and Gold. And this is the second movie that features Nazis and a quest for gold in as many months. It's a common trope. It's a common trope. Everyone loves Nazis and gold and Indiana Jones is back. So what are you going to do? I didn't understand, like, because I don't speak German. Interesting. trailer, but I think I picked up on the phrase, where's the gold? RL That's what they said. They said, where's the gold? Like 20 times in the trailer. Toby That's the whole trailer. So I'm getting the vibe of the film. I'm interested. I think it looks very pretty and I can't, I think it's going to have a comedy, but quite a gritty tone. RL Yes, it has a sort of slightly tongue in cheek vibe, doesn't it? And even just through the trailer edit being only those words repeated. But it looks like it's got some action in it. And I think that there's some, connection or the action is done by someone with good pedigree. That's the bullet points of that for me. Very, very interested. We'll give it a watch. Come on, we'll breeze through these. Okay, breezing in next. Jesse V. Johnson is back. He has directed lots of good action films in the past. I think the last thing I saw of him was Hell Hath No Fury, which was okay, I thought. He's also directed a bunch of Scott Adkins stuff, which has been largely pretty good. That's why this features. It's called One Ranger and it's got Thomas Jane who I think at some point was quite a big name. But I mean, I feel like the whole A list to however Z list, D list, whatever, like it's very blurry right now, isn't it? our staff, he was in HBO shows. And now, I mean, it's not just him, John Malkovich is in this. They're just popping up on what is definitely a director streaming. Mason They probably go, yeah, go on then. What do I have to do? The only phrase I have to learn in German is where is the golf? That's it. Okay. Okay. Yeah. So yes, in One Ranger, Thomas Jane plays a, some kind of southern sheriff who has to go to London for a reason. And then, oh boy, culture clash. I like to think this is a remake of two of my favourite cultural touchstones. but set in London, it feels like Crocodile Dundee meets Dew South set in London. Dew South! Man, I used to love Dew South. Remember there were two different guys that played his friend. They used to do that in TV, didn't they? Same thing happened in The X-Files, kind of. I'm re-watching The X-Files. Who got replaced in The X-Files? There's a few series as well, Mulder. We don't have time to get into it. Okay, we don't have time. Anyway, this looks like, I mean, I just said that's true. It's due south for now. I mean, yeah. D'you South meets Crocodile Dundee set in a Guy Ritchie world. It is a bit, isn't it? It's like set in London, but there's quite a lot of people shooting guns around. So, and then Jesse V. Johnson can make action. He is also British, I think, but based in America. The elevator pitch for this would have clearly been, you know, like a sheriff revenge film, like a western set in metropolitan London. Yeah. Is that? is. I'm intrigued. I'm going to watch it. I'm intrigued. Normally you send me this sort of trailer and I go, oh, but this, I was generally like, yeah, absolutely. It's got like a few things that piqued my interest. I think it's a fun premise and Jesse V. Johnson could make it good. If he doesn't find a horse for the end sequence. Forget it. Not interested. I want a redux of true lies through pal mal in London or I'm out. I want. The gritty reboot of Dew South. Still Dew South. It's still on Dew South. If you've missed this cultural touchstone in your reference, Paul, generally go back, try and find a good copy of Dew South. Honestly, I just remembered who his dad was. No spoilers. I don't remember that. It's about a Mountie. That's what you need to know. It's a lovely TV show from the 2000s? Early twos? is. And if you don't remember it, it was Lesley Nielsen. Will Barron Do you know what that popped into my head and I didn't say it. So what have we learned? Jason Vale There we go. There we go. Last trailer. Will Barron This one is called Black Lotus and it's notable for two reasons. One, that it is Dutch or is at least set in Amsterdam. Jason Vale But you wrote, in the notes Simon sent me, it's set in Amsterdam and I can genuinely feel your excitement in that. Will Barron That's all. It's just like when trailer, I just go, oh, I recognize all that stuff. But this also ties into my previous point about A-list doesn't mean different things. I think I summed that up nicely because old Grillo's back in this and he is someone who has kind of run the gamut from big screen blockbusters through. You see the guy who was in Captain America, Winter Soldier. I believe he is in that movie. Yes. He's in loads of stuff. The baddie in this, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, this is setting up Dam also features Rico Verhoeven, which is a very Dutch name, who is a mega kickboxer. I think it's his first movie. So hopefully he's going to kick some people in it in a cool way. What a good segue, Simon. Into what? Into, to kicking people. And just thinking how many kicks there were in our film. I'm getting excited about it. That's it. Okay. You didn't even say anything about the trailer. I don't think I need to. I think. I think it looks. fine. I think it looked absolutely fine. They did nothing for me this trailer. Mason- It's another one that could go either way. I will probably watch it just because it's fun to see things set in Amsterdam in the same way that it's fun to watch things set in London. Where you don't usually see people getting kickboxed in movies set in Amsterdam. You don't usually see loads of machine guns in movies set in London. He was kickboxed. Use it in a sentence? Oh no. Did you hear about Jerry? He got in the ring and he got the shit kickboxed out of him. Wow. Yeah, it works. It works. Yeah. Okay. Oh, the rest of my case. I think it might be time for me to press the button. your presentation. Okay, here we are without any further ado, apart from the previous 20 minutes of ado. Oh boy, it's this time. It's John Wick. It's John Wick Chapter 4. Everybody's back. Chad's directing it. Keanu's kicking everyone. Fishburn is there. All the other people are there. Lovejoy's back. We've got Scott Adkins turning up. Marco Zeror is there. Donnie... I mean, I don't know where to start on this, but I'm just going to say, this is where I'm setting my stall out. This is the most fun I have had in the cinema since RRR. Okay. There, I've said it. I was ready for this. I tried to not read much, but you see stuff and I'd heard people already and I was like, want to get my expectations too high. I don't want to go in and be disappointed. And I, my expectations were a little bit high, but they were shit out of the water. You sound so excited. I think it was just, maybe it just was like the combination of so many things and I just needed this also needed a cinema trip. Also, maybe there's a lot of the Simon's letterboxed 2023 is only three ready for something that just took everything to the next level. And I'm not saying it's a perfect film by any stretch, but I fucking loved it. Mason- Yeah. Before we continue though, I do have a question for you. Mason- Okay. Mason- Is it an action film? Mason- I would say it's a sports movie, technically. Mason- I think it's a straight up comedy a lot of the time. But yeah, it's, I think it's just the most action film, isn't it? It's like Chad Stahelski, no, I still don't know how to say it, Stahelski, Chad Stahelski, the director, Stahelski. Stahelski, it's gotta be. He started out as a stuntman, right? He's trained in martial arts and stuff. He was, he was Keanu's stunt double on the Matrix. They've known each other for 25 years. he in his somewhere in his head is us nerds going, what would be cool? And in each of these movies, he's just gone, what would be cool and done it. And I think this one felt like, I mean, it probably won't be based on how successful it is, but like a swan song where they were like, you know what? We're doing cars, guns, fists. The Holy Trinity have dodged this. Oh, I absolutely delivered on that. I mean, it's more like cars, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, fists. He loves it. It just ticked all the boxes of everything that an action nerd... I don't want to use the word nerd in a derogatory way. An action fan. Someone who... I'm mainly talking about me. Aficionado loves. And they just do it. Do you, like, it's like someone was like, right, you've got one more of these movies, who do you want in it? And he was just like, everyone, get Donnie Yen in it, get Adkins in it, get Marco Zerora in it. He was kidding in a candy shop. He was like, who's free and who can- That is exactly it. And me watching it was exactly that. like he also, because he works with Keanu forever, he's going to work with Keanu forever. But there's two projects he's doing that I'm really excited about. And I think there's people in this film that are probably to do with those other projects. So he's doing the new Highlander reboot. Mason- Izzy! Jason- Obviously Clancy Brown's in this one. So he's obviously a big fan of the original Highlander, which makes me excited. And also he's doing Ghost of Tsushima. Mason- Is that the video game? And I don't know if he actually plays him in the video game, but what's he called? Hiroyuki Sonada. I will be shocked if he isn't the main guy in Ghost of Toshin. Mason- Well. Didn't know both of those things and that's both very exciting. He loves bloody swords, doesn't he? That's a lot of swords. Jason- He seems to love cult action films and he loves, seems to love video games. Cause I think he's doing Rainbow Six as well. Like, a lot of this film, a lot of John Wick 4, undeniably is like a video game. To the point where it has Streets of Rage rules. Every baddie, when they get a bit harder, they all have a uniform to go, okay, I know how much it takes to kill that type of baddie. M- Yes, you know how much energy they have. S- And then there's a boss on every stage. It generally feels structured like a five level side-scrolling video game. John Wick 3 to some degree. And I remember in conversations about John Wick 3, which I also loved. And I remember watching it here in Amsterdam in the cinema on my own that time. This time I went with friend of the show, Emile. You know how we like those little in the cinema recordings? Well, maybe I did one with the me and Emile. In fact, why don't I drop it in for you now, Matthew? So you can put yourself in mind of me and Emile at I watch either on my own or in my lounge. There's a very rare treat where I get to watch them with you and in your stead, often, I will bring friend of the show, Emil. Anyway, I don't know if he enjoyed it as much as I did. I don't know if that was possible, but I forced him to leave his thoughts as we were exiting the cinema, as it's my want. Here it is. Okay, I'm in the cinema in Amsterdam and I'm joined by a friend of the show, Emil Stryker-Moutier. We've just come out of John Wick. I'm still beaming ear to ear. It's fucking amazing. I mean, you say what you want and I will probably throughout the rest of the podcast to Matthew, but Emil is here and Emil, I just would love to hear your thoughts very briefly. It's great. You know, they do all the work up at the beginning. shooting for the next two hours and it's it's awesome that's the best thing like literally I haven't spent any time on dialogue or getting super witty there's some poetic lines in there don't be wrong but not not Indian cinema levels of one-liners you know it's a job done and you get a lot of action in return for it the amount of nut biting is just more than you think you would have seen in a movie we're gonna go about the rest of our day you know but kinda I'm so in person. So much more fun in person. And we got a good audience too. Very good. Also we saw it in Dolby Cinema so it was very loud and very loud. Very good quality picture. Does that mean I'm getting old Simon? That I'm now starting to complain about the quality? Now you're in the right place. All right back to everybody in the quote unquote studio. I just remember thinking, oh, John Wick 3, it's like at the beginning, you know, he's, he's throwing knives at people, he's got his, then he gets a bulletproof suit. And then the, the final level of John Wick 3 is all the baddies are in full body armor from head to toe. And you're like, holy shit, how is he going to do? And then it's like mega headshots. This movie starts on veteran level. and face mask armor. That's how it starts. He has to get his gun inside them or stab them in the throat. And then it just goes up and up. I think the first 20 minutes before the first action scene, I think we will have to probably tap on a few spoilers throughout. So please, if you haven't watched the movie, you must go and see it. You must. I don't think spoilers are going to ruin your enjoyment of the movie because it's visually incredible. That's what you will enjoy. But yeah, it starts, I don't want to say slow, but it kind of, I'm quite glad that it takes a while. Like, yes, he kills like four people in the first two minutes, but not in a John Wick way. I mean, he's on a horse, so whatever. like, you know, modern John Wick world. And then it just takes a little while for the wheels to start turning. Quite, um, uh, this, okay, this is a spoiler, but someone dies right at the beginning and I, for the whole movie, I was like, well, he can't be really dead. And then he, and then he was really dead. Yeah. You want to talk about that? And also like really, that's really sad in like so many ways. Um, yeah. Okay. This is now mega spoilers. You're gonna, yeah. Um, Lance Reddick who plays, well, his character name is Sharon, I guess, but he's the, uh, concierge right at the hotel. And you know, he died in real life recently, which is really sad. And so I guess this is possibly his last movie. And then like, he's like the inciting incident almost of this movie because he gets killed right at the beginning. Yeah. And a part of me was like, well, John Wick got shot at the end of the last one and he managed and in this world, when people get shot. know. But yeah, they just, he just dies. Mason- Huge spoiler, but yeah, it happens very early, it gives it a lot of momentum. Yeah, but it was like, sort of like, oh fuck, because you want to see him growing into his own, but there was no other option in the scene that he is. Angus- It's true. If you want, you still want Ian McShane around. Also, there's one thing that, and this is, it's sort of bittersweet because he's gone now, which is very sad. But If you have one of these parts in a movie where you are, you're not in it as much as everyone maybe thinks, and you have to go to like the premiere and all that stuff. And these like, you're in the photos and you're doing all the press and then you're kind of like, ah, amazing. And then people sit down and they're like, Oh, but you were here at the premiere. Cause you can't like, you can't give it away. You know? The old Drew Barrymore from Screams. Yes! Yeah. I love that. And it must be so exciting. think about like when a character dies in a TV show and they're always like, suddenly once it's revealed, they're all like, I have love amends. I imagine that's quite an exciting, when you're part of a franchise to know the impact of what you know. It's great. But yeah, he too fair, he was amazing in it and yeah, absolutely. What a bloody, bloody turn. sadly, but yeah, it's awful. It's awful. I was talking about, yeah, the first 20 minutes or so of the movie. It takes its time. It isn't like as much as it knows what we want, it doesn't go minute five, everything's exploding. It takes a while to build and then, oh my God, when the first sort of full on action scene in the Japanese hotel, I was just so made me so happy. It's just so good. You've got Marko's roar, like, just kicking everyone. He's an enormous and incredible in this. Him and Hiroyuki Sonada going at it. Keanu's doing everything. Also, Rina Sawayama is shooting bows and arrows into everyone. Johnny Yen. He fucking steals this movie. Just the way he plays everything. He does that, what I love about a lot of Hong Kong cinema, he plays it with that aloofness of like, he knows how good he is. Like there's a bit in the first action sequence where he's just eating noodles. Yeah, I know. I love that. I love that like character beat of like, everyone is going mental and he's just sat in the corner eating noodles. Like, let me know when shit hits I think I'll be fine over here. Mason. Yeah. It's just great. Donnie Yen though, was for me, everything about this film that I loved. Like, I'm so, like, again, I don't want to spoil too much, but he gets such a good run at it, that it just, he just absolutely smashes it. His character arc is great. His sort of everything that drives that character is great. The fact that it's clearly like, got a lot of Zatoichi references in. There was a part of me at the beginning where I was like, oh no, he's blind? But it's Donnie, how's he going to fight everyone? And then I was like, well, actually he did quite well in Rogue One when he was blind. So he's pretty good at being a blind hard-ass. And yeah, like the obvious Atoichi. So vibes. That's how good he is at that role as well. Cause Katie's only really seen him in that in Rogue One. She had to ask me if he was actually blind to real life. Incredible. so good in this. And he does for all the, there's a lot of characters that maybe don't have the sort of depth that you, if you really wanted to get into it, like, I would like to know a little bit more about, you know, the tracker character. Like what is that? What's his story? Who is, what is that in this world? But Donny's character actually does get enough beats that you're like, okay, so he's like, everyone in the movie is like a different level bad guy, right? He's streets of rage. But even streets of rage, your aren't you a good guy or you also a bad guy? Like the player isn't a bad guy, right? Or are they? I don't know. It's a more complicated game than you realize. Hey, Hagar is Hagar in streets. Right. No, that's final fight. That's final fight. That's my bad. Anyway, so like you can, you can kind of see like there's the real, you know, bad guy, the scars guard who has like no redeeming features, bad guy. John Wick, we already know about him, like he tried to be a nice guy, but before that he was killing a lot of people, so he's not like a good guy. And then Donny's like, the high table have kind of trapped him into this deal and he doesn't want to try and get John, but he has to because his daughter is in peril. It gives it a nice amount of nuance. Mason- Is John Wick from the other spin, like if you're following Donny Yen in this, you understand instantly the balance between them. And again, having someone who is the perfect balance for him to drive through this film is just a really good way to keep it interesting. Because this film is three hours long. Mason, It's not a short film. Mason, Two hours of that is pure action. Mason, Yes. And bloody hell, the whole remake of the Warriors in France. It's kind of like an hour remake of that film at Pogs. And you're sort of like, oh, this is a little cheeky reference. And you're like, this is not a cheeky reference. This is fully on the nose. No one's like, I wonder if they were referencing, you know. never used this as a term, I don't think, before for action, but it's unrelenting. When a sequence gets moving, it's not like, I'm going to deal with this. This is like, okay, you're watching this in real time and this is going to be a 30, 40 minute action sequence. Yeah. They all go on longer than even I thought they would. And I'm not saying... And that isn't a criticism at all. No. There's an argument that maybe you could have shaved a few minutes here or there, popped. Because every time you think, well, I mean, I get it. You know, he does a, he judo throws the guy, he shoots him in the head. Then they do something else that makes you go, okay, all right. I didn't think of it. That's fucking brilliant. It's insane. And like, they just, what I love about this film, like, cause there's always that film nerding you that starts to break down if this was the real world. What I love So, there is like the biggest action sequence in Paris on what's the... is it the Arc de Triomphe that we're in about? And not a police siren inside. No police interests. There's an incredible action sequence in a nightclub in Berlin. No one bats an eyelid. No one stops dancing. It's like a street fighter background. You're going to move through this. Which again, this is a good time to talk about this because I know you're going to want to nerd out about that character and that sequence. Masonet- Scott Adkins. Jason- It's your boy Scott Adkins, given a role which, and again, I'm going to keep using video game references because I do feel like it's a heavily influenced video game culture. But there's a bit in Scott Adkins' sort of sequence where he does become a time crisis up and runs. It's like a cut scene between phases of a video game. It's incredible. Scott Edkins in this film. Oh my God. One, giving him that role was incredible. Two, how he delivered that role. Absolutely incredible. Mason- He's having the time of his life, isn't he? Toby- He is loving it. So, if you don't know who Scott Edkins is playing, he's essentially a German gangster, but they put him in a massive, it's a combination of a muscle and a fat suit. it's like huge. I can't even imagine how much it weighs. And some of the fucking moves he's pulling. He's doing sort of like capoeira style moves, he's doing MMA moves, he's doing these incredible fly kicks, and it doesn't slow him down one bit. To the point where I want to see behind the scenes, see if there's wires involved, because it doesn't feel like it. NARES Well, he said that the suit was not as heavy as you would think. gets very heavy, but like in terms of him being able to like pull off his like, you know, reverse roundhouses and stuff and like head kicks, he wasn't too sort of hemmed in by it. And I think this is one of those things where we talked about like how the war, the warrior's bit is like so obviously the warrior's bit. I think, and I'm, I'm not sure if I've heard it said or that Chad statelessly said it, but, but his character and the size of odd to Sammo Hung. Well, A in like enter the dragon, right at the beginning when Sammo fights Bruce Lee and he's like, that guy's a bit tubby. And then he just like does back flips and you're like, Whoa, but also in SPL where Sammo fights Donnie and Sammo is in like a really sharp tailored suit, not dissimilar to the one that Scott Atkins is wearing. And Sammo just goes absolutely Sammo crazy in that as well. So yeah. And it's just like almost like a Guy Ritchie character. It's just such a like... Scott, you're only in one scene, two scenes of this movie, but we're going to give you a fat suit, gold teeth, loads of prosthetics, and also you're German. Mason- You're German and you love gambling. Will- Just have at it, mate. Just go to town. Mason- This is the weird thing about John Wick. Especially when you look at where John Wick His dog's killed Baba Yager, sort it out. The scale. The scale and the scope in the world-building they've done in between is ridiculous. But it's like the scripting parts get in the way of the script sometimes. Whenever there's dialogue, it's obviously written so tongue-in-cheek, but I can't get my head around some sequences. I'm like, this is ridiculous. He's there for pure exposition in this old sort of gentlemanly world way to the point where he says things I'm like, absolutely no human being would ever talk like that or say that. When Scott Adkins is talking and they give him this gambling thing, and it becomes like anime. Like, with every hand revealed. fundamental, but it's like, oh, so your hand is this good, but oh, here is another hand of cards that is better. And it just like, it becomes so ludicrous. So you've just loaded that deck before you handed them out, surely, mate? It's ridiculous. Absolutely, he's loaded that deck. I want to kill you. You want to kill him. It's like a Bond villain, just chewing the scenery. That's exactly what I thought. He had real Bond vibes. And again, given like that kid in a candy shop reference. I think he has thrown everything he loves into this film. He's obviously, because it does feel like the end of the saga. Will Barron I hope it is. Will Barron I think it's a good place to end. Will Barron I know it won't be. Will Barron I mean they're already setting up for spin-offs by the looks of things. Will Barron Yeah, spin-offs I'm like, I'm okay with. There's enough characters in this and the other movies and God, I mean it's like... Will Barron But they've world built so much, haven't they? Will Barron Yeah, that's fine. need another Keanu led John Wick. Also, Keanu's knocking on 60 these days. He has put in the work on these and I think this would just be just the go out on the top. Will Barron What's going to happen is it's going to do a load of spin-offs and then it'll calm down in 20 years. Someone will say, Jason Vale He'll be back. Will Barron No, but I reckon they'll in about 20, 30 years where the kids who love John Wick are now making films. someone will do the night he gets free that's never seen. Because they always talk about it. It's almost guaranteed. Some kid who loves action grows up, gets a load of studio back in, gets the right. I would say this would be us, but we'll be the same age as Keanu is now. We'll be. In 20 years. So we maybe won't be making that movie. Yeah, you're right. You're right. I think that's the way it'll go. But I mean, talk about this for triple the time the film actually takes. It's so packed and there's so much, every frame is lit beautifully. That's the other thing, I think, isn't it, to talk about is you watch so many DTV movies and even the greatest DTV movies that have the great action and money, there's only so much you can do. And God bless, like, you know, accident man, hitman's holiday, go to Malta, like get free scenery, you know, that sort of shit, like make the most of that budget. And, and God knows the, some of these smaller budget movies do, but in this is a hundred million dollar movie and like every dollar of that, like set design, production design, you know, So we're on this one location for three days. So like, cause that's the thing, like it's ridiculous. But like, if that was a DTV, like say the, you know, the nightclub scene, there'll be one location, two days max. And then they'd just be like, we've got to get it. Whereas this, you know, they probably spent five hours before any actors on set going, I want the light for this. I want the movement for this. I want... they've tracked it, they've dummy run it, they've blocked it completely. There's not a bit of this film that isn't even in the look. If it's DTV, you don't get like 200 extras in the nightclub, you don't get them fighting in like a waterfall. It's that sort of like, just the depth and the cinematography and the lighting is just- The pre-production. Have you seen the video of Keanu learning nunchucks? Yes. I watched everything available behind the I'm like, whenever the behind the scenes comes out, I need to see every behind the scenes of this. Please start releasing them soon. I need to see them. Mason- I can't wait for the breakdowns of action scenes. It's mind blowing how detailed it is. And everything, I joke about it feeling like you move through a video game level, but it's so mapped out. Like they know exactly- Mason- But I mean, it's unapologetic as well about that, I think. Mason- I don't think it needs to apologize. I think it's beautifully done. that. It's like Game of Death, you know? You go up a level, you get a different level baddie. This is the knives level, this is the guns level, this is the water, the Slippy Slidy Ice World platform reference level. Mason- I mean, there's a sequence in this, which absolutely, stylistically stands out because it is such a decision to have the sequence in. But there's a one shot, which is essentially a top down, like shoot them up game. And it is the set, the size of the set alone, like for this one sequence is incredible. And the way they've made that so, this is a spoiler, but not a spoiler. At some point, John Wick gets a shotgun. You have seen about 20, 30 minutes before a hit's been put, like the bounty on John Wick's gone up. Everyone in the area is getting their shit together and they just have about two seconds. They linger on a shotgun shell box. called Dragon's Breath. And that's all you need to see. And you go, okay. Mason- I think they do shoot one off, right? They like shoot it at a dummy or something and you're like, oh boy, that's tough. And I didn't, in my head, I didn't go, that's, they're setting something up there. Jason- But they've set this up. They've set this up. Basically, he's found a way to make the shotgun blast in this incredible one shot, which goes on for god five minutes. I wouldn't be surprised if it's five minutes. They basically made a way of doing this beautiful over the top shot and going, but you'll really see the visuals on this. Like by making this in this sort of those matrix sort of greens and blues that John Wick really lives in. They do exactly what John Wick does photography wise. They find a way to put a colour into it that changes the scene entirely. So they put this splash of orange and red amongst all these greens and blues and just everything is pretty much bang centre frame. everything's got motion. The choreographer, that alone, to make it that slick. It's just... NARESH It's amazing. Like the combination of the sort of overhead shot, it put me in mind of the video game Hotline Miami. ALICE Yeah, it's exactly Hotline Miami. NARESH Also in my head I was like, I have seen another video game that looks like, and there's a video game called Hong Kong Massacre that is... ALICE You sent it to me straight after. NARESH Almost like, and Chad's just blablabla, has mentioned it in interviews that he's seen that video game and it is almost like they've just made a real life version of it. It's so incredible. The way you were like, how can we do this, but make it cool? Like, oh, the shotgun stuff sparks. And it puts you in mind of like old John Woo movies with the practical effects and like just carnage, like moving, birds eye view. And it does look like a wanna. And I assume, in my head I was like, oh, probably each room was stitched together to the next room. There's no way they would have done all of that in a wanna. Mason- You think about it, because it's all one floor. I think if they've made that set, they've made that set. I don't think- Jason- It's possible that it is one set, but I imagine- Mason- There's definitely CGI in composite. like they would cut, you know, as it's scrawled, scrawled, as it tracked into like the next room that would be like a cut point, you know, so they didn't have to do all the squibs and the explosions and all that sort of shit. Either way, I watched that scene like with my jaw on the floor. I would, that was, it was already like at the point in the movie where loads of cool shit had happened. And I was like, I mean, I think we've done it. We've completed it now, haven't we? This is, it must be the end. And then, and I was like, I've just never seen this on screen before. And it's like blowing my mind how fucking cool it looks. So slick. It's so slick. I think again, we're probably going to have to stop wrapping up soon, but you can tell already like we've not even scratched the surface. We should do a live audio commentary for three hours of the whole movie of just going like, look at it! Look! into like, Laurence Fishburne being the guy in a video game who just turns up at every location at the beginning of a level. And goes- Mason- He's like the guy who sells you guns. Jason- Exactly. He's like, whoa, have I got something for you. Mason- What are you buying? What are you selling? Jason- Like that guy. I'm playing Resident Evil 4 at the moment. It's the first one with the merchant in it. It's exactly that. Yeah. Yeah. Natalia Tenner turns up in this film. She's incredible in that role. Really menacing. Who else? I mean, there's so many- a stacked car. Skarsgård, we haven't mentioned Bill Skarsgård. But this is the one I wanted to devote time to because Bill Skarsgård is phenomenal in this film. He's also having a ball, isn't he? But I mean, he is brilliant in everything. Just from Pennywise to this, whatever he's doing behind the scenes to get him in a role, he completely becomes that character. I've never think I've watched a film where I've consciously gone, oh my God, his walking acting is incredible. He's a really good walker. He uses his body in such a weirdly menacing way. So he knows how to close in and open his body to enunciate what his thoughts are. And the way that they build his character arc. So again, like you said earlier, he is pure baddie. But to watch his confidence be shook gradually by the actions of John Wick, he could play that in such a cartoonish way. incredible actor. Like, it just lets it play out so subtly. And he's so, I just, he's either just really natural at everything he does, or he's so conscious about all his body's movements. I think again, him and Donnie Yen stole this film for performances. Mason- Yeah, he is a menace in this movie, Scar's God. He's just like, you're like, well, he doesn't look very hard. He just looks one of those sort of like, you know, rich floppy going to say anymore, but it was like, Oh, I hope they cut away. They didn't. The horrific part where you're like, Oh, he is a nasty piece of work. And that also, that, that particular scene leads me on to the tracker character, Shamier Anderson. He's nobody. You know, I had a lot of questions like who, what, what is this? It's just the law, isn't it? It's the world building of like, bit of, you know, in Blade where the vampires have a familiar or they have, there's other characters that are like in the world of the vampires, but they're not vampires. Like these tracker characters, clearly he's just sort of like follows assassins around and like learns about the world. But he's, he's the, he's the, again, it's all in the film. And again, he feels like he's very or the absolute pros of their world, the Donnie Yens, the Keanu Reeves, these characters. Kane and John Wick, if you want the character names. Thank you. He is very much at the beginning of his journey and he has none of the regret or has they drill in these films the consequences of their actions yet. And here's lessons throughout this because he's, again, they give enough. This is what I love. They don't slam everything in your face. him an agenda. They give enough to make you feel like something else is going around him. They give him a fucking cool dog. They do give him a cool dog, which again, this film knows it's three previous films. There's enough little references to throw back to make this, if you watch all four back to back, because it is chapters. You have to think of it as one long film, essentially. I think it would just bleed together lovely. Some of the little callbacks, payoffs. Yeah, his dog, obviously, reason John Wick's doing this because of his dog. Oh, that's right. Yeah. And there is that one moment where John Wick doesn't kill the dog and you're like, we know why, we know why he doesn't kill the dog. No, it's not that he doesn't kill the dog. He doesn't kill the character because he sees the dog in danger. He chooses to save the dog because obviously he failed his own dog. I'm misremembering. I misremembered that. I remember there being the dog moment. I'm sure we're talking about the same moment. Yeah, we are. We are. And it's just after that big sequence. So it's when the dog bites, Marcos are all in the dick for the fourth or fifth time. Yeah. I can't remember. There's so many good bits. I think, I think we're going to have to just, I think you can tell we enjoyed this film. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. I don't want to say movie of the year already in March, but come at me, come at me with a better movie than John Wick 4. annoyed. That's true actually. Oh and wait Mission Impossible 7 is out this year isn't it? So do you have an action replay? I got two action replay options for you. One, one is the entire scene that we talked about before with the fire breath shotgun, Hong Kong massacre, hotline manmy. That's both of us, yeah. Because that was just like, I can't wait to watch that scene again. I just marvelled at, this is an incredible action scene because it ticks so many boxes and then it's marvelled at like the imagination and the cinematography and the way it's put together just technically was incredible. micro scale. There was a moment in the first action scene in the Japanese hotel where John, which we haven't talked about a lot, there was a lot of bow and arrows and we didn't really mention Rina Sawayama, who is both British and ostensibly a pop star, but I think really does a great job of this movie and will invariably get a spin-off, not least because of the- credits stuff. But there's a lot of people get shot with bow and arrows. There's one bit towards the sort of like an end beat or an end of that level within a level, where John Wick finishes off one of the guys who are in all bulletproof and he's, he's, it turns out he's already got an arrow through him and his body just sort of like spins on the, on the arrow, like a, like a firework Catherine wheel that you've nailed to a fence. And it was just, it was like a chef's kiss moment where in the cinema, there's so many of those that are designed to make you laugh. Like it's a movie that takes itself so seriously but at the same time knows exactly what it is and has moments like that where you have to laugh. Moments where John Wick falls down the stairs like he's in an Eddie Murphy stand up routine. That's my ancient replay. The entire scene. videos for that scene alone. So this is a spoiler, but yeah. There's a sequence which is just, like, again, symbolically, in terms of cinema language, John Wick has gone through hell and the last phase of his journey is 200 plus stairs. It's pure, you know, it's pure symbolism. But at the end of it, he falls down and it's hilarious. I really, there's And I really wish he'd just rolled down them just for comedy. He really just wanted it. But yeah, that entire sequence for me, this is a huge spoiler. It was such a bold choice, wasn't it? I think we're well... So funny. The fact that they were just like, he's fought his way to the top of the stairs. He's reached his goal. And then someone just throws him and he tumbles down, not like a few stairs. It's a comedy moment. There's no other way of looking at it. It's like a cartoon and symbolically. And then he has the all-star team up and then him and Donnie Yen have to do the whole fucking stairs again. Just watching those guys together was incredible. I mean, anytime Donnie Yen is in this film as an action replay for me, he literally, my micro action replay is just watch, forgetting, a sequence of fast hands to someone's chest. So fast. It's insane how fast it is. Like those It Man. Yeah. Incredible. But yeah, that whole sequence for me was just... Also, 60 years old Donnie Yen. Absolutely mind blowing. So we've said this when we watched Rage and Fire. Rage and Fire. Well, he was like 58 in Rage and Fire, so by now he must be 60. Crazy. But yeah, that was my entire actions replay of the stairs. Beautiful. Incredible. My action replay is this whole movie. There's so many moments. And I will hear the argument if people go, it's too much. It's the same thing over and over again. But tell me another film where, in John Wick 3, he used horses as a weapon. In this film, he uses cars. He's not driving the car. You've just never seen it before. Mason- Those details are, again, I'll keep using the kidding and canister, but Chad Stahelski, he's thought about this. Something they talked about in The Matrix, I remember Keanu Reeves talking about this, he thinks about the physics of stuff. If you watch how he flicks out certain cartridges from a gun, it's different for every gun. in every split second is potentially death for him. And he is thought to the point where every gun he gets, how he would reload that gun in a different way. Like whether he flicks out to the side, whether he drops it, when he's got a moment, there's a great little micro detail. There's a moment where he has a breather for a split second, pops out his gun cartridge, pushes his finger into it to see how many are left and pops it back in because he knows it's worth keeping the cartridge. That's the detailing. when it eventually runs out, he then uses the magazine to stab someone at one point. Mason- Yeah. Everything's a weapon. But yeah, it is pure escapism. It's absolutely pure, high-uptane, ridiculous. Like, you can't take it serious. Mason- Of course you can't. But if you're going into watching the fourth movie in the John Wick franchise, I looked on Rotten Tomatoes, there was like a review from The Telegraph, gave it one star. And I was like, I mean, that's just bad journalism. Like you can't, there's no world where you can give this movie one star. From technicality alone. Right. Even if you're like, it's not really my sort of thing. Well, then I don't know what, I mean, I guess you're a reviewer, maybe you're forced to watch it. I get that it's subjective, but at what point are you like, no, sorry, this is an objectively bad film, cinema was having the time of their lives. Mason- Right, I think we've said enough. Anyway, three stars letterboxed. Mason- I think we've said everything we need to say about this film and absolutely nowhere near enough. Jason- It's going to be diminishing returns for the rest of season two until... Mason- Oh, cheer up. Jason- I just don't know how we're going to... We might have to stop the podcast now. We've just got to take a breather. I've got to reset. No, absolutely bloody loved it. And Long may he reign. All that remains is to follow us on all the socials. You can find us on this pod on Twitter along with Matthew and myself, Instagram, blah, blah, blah. Please, Ray, please share because we love you guys, but we also want to grow. So yeah. And as ever, please send us suggestions of gems. Oh yeah, do, do, do. We'd love to see those because as well as the big boys coming through, we've got to keep peppering out the gems. treasures. Anyway, it's been a, it's been, I want to say a long one. No, I think it's been an average one lengthwise, but John Wick 4 is and great Abla and I loved it. And yeah. And just cause I've not said it all the way through and it's my favorite thing about John Wick, Baba Yiga. Go see the Baba Yiga. Good Baba Baba Baba Baba Yiga. There we go. Just fade there. No need to fade out there.