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‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Review: Keanu Reeves in a Three-Hour Action Epic That’s Like a Spaghetti Western Meets John Woo in Times Square

It's conceived as a knowingly overstuffed gift to "John Wick" fans, and on that level it succeeds.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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What no one could have anticipated is how well the counterintuitive casting worked. Reeves, an actor who even at his most stoic can’t hide his innate likability, was warmer than the role called for — and that’s just what made it connect. His John Wick was a savage badass looking into the abyss…with a quiver of decency. He started off as a noirish antihero, but with each film the series grew more grandiose, as Wick, his name a reference to his short fuse (but it’s also short for “wicked”), got elevated into a kind of superhero. He didn’t have unearthly powers, but he had the quality of invincibility, which is the only superpower you need. “John Wick: Chapter 2” and “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” were styled as pulp revels, built around action set pieces that were now knowingly and gloriously over-the-top. It almost didn’t matter if the plot and dialogue were cut-rate. The fans experienced those scenes like drugs.

“John Wick: Chapter 4” is 2 hours and 49 minutes long, but it has a story that, if it were told more briskly, could fit into an 83-minute potboiler that you might have seen in a grindhouse in 1977. Yet the way that Chad Stahelski , the series’ stuntman-turned-director, has staged it, full of hushed, portentous, ritualistic verbal showdowns that are meant to be hypnotic as they build up to each new action scene, “Chapter 4” feels like the first “John Wick” movie that wants to be a Clint Eastwood spaghetti Western. It’s like Sergio Leone crossed with John Woo as seen in Times Square.

The film completes the series’ cosmology with an elemental revenge-meets-liberation plot. Wick is still chained to his obligation to the High Table, the shadow-world consortium that controls…everything. Because of the high crime he committed at the Continental Hotel (a strict breach of High Table law), it’s as if he’s now under lifetime contract to the devil. But the devil has a face: It’s the Marquis de Gramont, a fascist preppie played by the baby-faced Bill Skarsgård (who’s like the young Matt Damon or Stephen Dorff as the world’s most entitled rich kid). And there’s a way out of the contract. Wick can challenge the Marquis to a duel to the death, which will take place at sunrise in front of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica in Paris.

Is “Chapter 4” too long? You bet it is. At moments, it’s like the action film as liturgical church service. Yet the movie is conceived as a knowingly overstuffed gift to “John Wick” fans, and on that level it succeeds. The Marquis keeps trying to assassinate Wick before the morning of the duel, and this results in several delectable fight sequences. One is set in the middle of the speeding centrifugal traffic that surrounds the Arc de Triomphe, one is shot thrillingly from an overhead doll’s-house view, and then there’s the spectacular climax, which unfolds on the Rue Foyatier in Montmartre, the 222-step stairway that leads to the Basilica. With Wick spinning into action (and, at one point, rolling down the entire flight), it becomes an exhilarating stairway to hell, one that winds up delivering John Wick to the gratifying karmic destination he has spent this series earning.

Reviewed at AMC Lincoln Square, March 8, 2023. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 169 MIN.

• Production: A Lionsgate release of a Summit Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures, 87Eleven Productions production. Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Chad Stahelski. Executive producers: Keanu Reeves, Louise Rosner, David Leitch, Michael Paseornek.
• Crew: Director: Chad Stahelski. Screenplay: Shay Hatten, Michael French. Camera: Dan Laustsen. Editor: Nathan Orloff. Music: Tyler Bates, Joel J. Richard.
• With: Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Clancy Brown, Ian McShane, Marko Zazor, Natalia Tena.

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All the John Wick movies, ranked from worst to best

What’s the best John Wick movie? The answer is harder than it may seem since all four (so far) movies in the franchise are so darn good. From the first movie’s origins as an under-the-radar film that quietly launched in the fall of 2014 to the latest installment John Wick: Chapter 4 ‘s big box office success, the John Wick movies have only increased in popularity and critical acclaim in the nine years it has existed.

4. John Wick (86%)

3. john wick: chapter 2 (89%).

• 2. John Wick:  Chapter 3 – Parabellum (89%)

1. John Wick: Chapter 4 (94%)

Every John Wick movie has been praised for its innovative action and stylish direction, but which one ranks at the top? Is it the original John Wick , which established the series in the first place? Or is it Parabellum , which dramatically expanded the scope and depth of the franchise? The following is a list of all the John Wick movies, ranked in ascending order by their Rotten Tomatoes score.

It’s shocking to find out that the original John Wick , the one that started it all, is the worst-reviewed movie of the series. Don’t be mistaken though; an 86% score is very impressive, not only for an action film but for any film in any genre. The movie introduced action movie vet Keanu Reeves  as the titular assassin, who, still mourning the death of his wife, accepts a last gift from her: an adorable puppy. This being an action movie, the dog is brutally killed by a Russian gang, and Wick seeks revenge for his beloved pup.

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Most critics like Time’s Richard Corliss praised director Chad Stahelski’s unique approach to a tired trope, the brooding killer, by “bring[ing] a sleek, chic gusto to the six or seven big action scenes, shooting the mayhem in longish takes rather than chopping it into short shots.” Similarly, Reeves, whose flagging career was revived due to the success of the film, was also singled out as being “in his element: a natural in hard-edged action thrillers from Speed to The Matrix , he has the benefit of a screenplay that gives him little to say.” The people who did initially catch John Wick in theaters agreed, and helped spread the word about the movie, which really caught fire on DVDs and streaming.

With John Wick quickly becoming a word-of-mouth sleeper hit, it was only inevitable that a sequel would be made. Three years later, John Wick: Chapter 2 came out in 207, continuing the story of Reeves’ assassin as he’s drawn into his past profession by Italian gangsters and the mysterious ways of The Continental, the super secret organization that pretty much every assassin belongs to in this world. A bigger budget meant more action and more stars, so joining Reeves in this chapter was his old Matrix co-star Laurence Fishburne, Common, Ruby Rose, and John Leguizamo.

Chapter 2 turned out to be the rare sequel that exceeded the original as critics welcomed back Wick and his hyper-realized world of secret societies, blood oaths, and archaic codes. The Detroit News’ Adam Graham praised the film, claiming that “in the wrong hands, this type of thing could be a drag, but John Wick 2 is one of the most fun action pictures in recent memory.” Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times thought Reeves was why the sequel worked, rhetorically asking “who would have guessed Keanu Reeves’ stoic, black-clad, one-man killing machine would become THE go-to bad guy/action hero of the 2010s?” Audiences answered in the affirmative, doubling the total gross of its predecessor and demanding a third chapter in the series.

2. John Wick:  Chapter 3 – Parabellum (89%)

Just two years later, they got their wish, as Chapter 3 was fast-tracked and quickly shot and released in the summer of 2019. Like the last one, the third John Wick brought in even bigger names like Oscar-winners Halle Berry and Angelica Huston and expanded the word of Wick and the Continental, making the High Table a legitimate threat and planting the seeds for future spinoffs like the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina .

Surprisingly, Chapter 3 received just as many accolades as Chapter 2 . NPR’s Chris Klimek compared the John Wick movies to another beloved action franchise by asserting that “the set pieces are more imaginative and daring than ever. There’s a musicality and wit to the action that only the Mission: Impossible series can equal.” The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips proclaimed Parabellum “the best of the three so far” while Little White Lies’ Matthew Thrift thought that it was an “astonishing spectacle of action and staging.” Again, moviegoing audiences couldn’t get enough, with Parabellum becoming the highest-grossing John Wick film yet with $328 million in the bank.

Fourth installments in film franchises usually don’t fare too well with critics; just look at Scream 4 or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull . [Better yet, don’t.] But John Wick: Chapter 4 bucked the trend, becoming the most highly praised installment in the nearly decade-old franchise. With its 169-minute runtime, epic action scenes that rival Mad Max: Fury Road ‘s jaw-dropping stunts, and an extended cast that now includes martial arts master Donnie Yen, It actor Bill Skarsgård, and pop singer Rina Sawayama, Chapter 4 pushed the series forward in exciting new directions, and could be the most successful John Wick movie yet.

With its impressive 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating , it’s not only the most well-reviewed John Wick movie so far, but one of 2023’s best pictures as well. The critical consensus is echoed in MovieFreak.com’ s review, where critic Sarah Michelle Fetters writes that “few series of this type have maintained this level of quality and ingenuity over four installments without growing stale.” Even The New York Times loved it , proclaiming Chapter 4 was “pure, eye-popping, body-shaking, transporting entertainment, something that (to borrow from another philosopher) has a good beat and you can dance to.” While Digital Trends’ own review of John Wick: Chapter 4 was mixed , that was just one of the few who found fault with it, and the movie received near unanimous praise. If there ever is a John Wick: Chapter 5 , it will be tough to beat Chapter 4 , but if any series can do it, it’s John Wick.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently in theaters. For John Wick fans, read John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending explained , John Wick: Chapter 4’s best scene , 5 reasons why John Wick is the best action movie ever , and does John Wick die at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4 ?

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In 2014, Keanu Reeves starred as a retired hit man thrust back into the criminal underworld in John Wick. The film exceeded box office and critical expectations, with many fans and pundits praising Reeves' performance and the elaborate action sequences. John Wick spawned three sequels, with the latest entry – John Wick: Chapter 4 – premiering in March 2023.

The billion-dollar franchise is now expanding with spinoffs, which began with The Continental, Peacock's limited series about a young Winston Scott's rise to power in New York City. The next project will be Ballerina, the first spinoff feature film in the franchise. Here is everything you need to know about Ballerina, including the release date, cast, synopsis, and trailer. Ballerina release date

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Welcome back, Mr. Wick. Four years after " John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ," director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves have returned to theaters with "John Wick: Chapter 4," a film that was supposed to hit theaters almost two full years ago. Trust me. It was worth the wait. Stahelski and writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch have distilled the mythology-heavy approach of the last couple chapters with the streamlined action of the first film, resulting in a final hour here that stands among the best of the genre. 

"John Wick: Chapter 4" opens with its title character (Reeves) on the run again as the villainous Powers That Be known as the High Table get in his way. The main villain of the series is the Marquis de Gramont ( Bill Skarsgård ), a leader of the High Table who keeps raising the bounty on Wick's head while he also cleans up the messes left behind, including potentially eliminating Winston Scott ( Ian McShane ) and his part of this nefarious organization. The opening scenes take Wick to Japan, where he seeks help from the head of the Osaka Continental, Shimazu ( Hiroyuki Sanada ), and runs afoul of a blind High Table assassin named Caine (the badass Donnie Yen ). Laurence Fishburne pops up now and then as Wick's Q when the killer needs a new bulletproof suit, and Shamier Anderson plays an assassin who seems to be waiting for the price on Wick's head to hit the right level for him to get his payday. More than the last couple of films, the plot here, despite the movie's epic runtime (169 minutes), feels refreshingly focused again. Here's John Wick. Here are the bad guys. Go!

And go they do. Stahelski and his team construct action sequences in a manner that somehow feels both urgent and artistically choreographed at the same time. Filmmakers who over-think their shoot-outs often land on a tone that feels distant, lacking in stakes, and feeling more stylish than substantial. The great action directors figure out how to film combat in a way that doesn't sacrifice tension for showmanship. The action sequences in "John Wick: Chapter 4" are long battles, gun-fu shoot-outs between John and dozens of people who underestimate him, but they have so much momentum that they don't overstay their welcome. 

They also have wonderfully defined stakes. At one point in the film, John and an enemy decide on the parameters of a battle, including time, weapons, and variables. But this is really true of all the major action scenes, in which we very clearly understand what John needs to do and who he needs to go through to "finish the level." The simplicity of objectives allows for complex choreography. We know what needs to happen for John to keep pushing forward as he has since the beginning of the first film. So much modern action is cluttered with characters or muddled objectives, but the "Wick" films have such brilliant clarity of intention that they can then have fun within those simple constructs.

So much fun. The choreography of the action here can be simply breathtaking. I loved how often the world goes on around Wick and his unfortunate combatants. In a sequence that would be the best in almost any other recent action movie (but is like 3 rd or 4 th here), Wick has to battle a makeup-covered Scott Adkins and his army of unlucky idiots in a crowded nightclub. The dancers barely notice. They sometimes part a little bit to let them through, but they don't stop and stare. With water pouring into the club, the writhing, and dancing bodies make for such a visually inventive backdrop. Later, in one of my favorite action sequences of all time, Wick and his predators battle in the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe. The cars don't stop. In fact, it feels like they speed up. As shots ring out in the streets in this film, no one opens the window to see what the hell is going on. The world outside of Wick and the mythology of this world almost feels like they can't even see the legendary assassin and the hundred or so people he ends up killing. It's a fascinating, visually striking choice.

And then there's what I would call Action Geography. So many people have tried to mimic the frenetic approach of the "Bourne" movies, and the results have often been more incoherent than not. The amazing cinematographer Dan Laustsen (a regular Guillermo del Toro collaborator on " The Shape of Water ," " Nightmare Alley ," and more) works with Stahelski to make sure the action here is clean and brutal, never confusing. The stunt work is phenomenal, and, again, the shoot-outs have the feel of dance choreography more than the bland plot-pushing of so many studio films. There's just so much grace and ingenuity whenever Wick goes to work. 

Of course, a great cast helps too. Reeves might have fewer lines in this movie than any so far in the franchise, but he completely sells Wick's commitment while also imbuing him with emotional exhaustion that adds more gravity to this chapter. The vengeful Wick of the first film is a different one than the survivor three movies later, and Reeves knows exactly what this character needs. So many performers would add unnecessary touches to a character that's already this popular, but Reeves is smart about streamlining this performance to fit the film around him. It also allows for a few supporters to shine in different performance registers, especially Yen and Anderson. The legendary Yen is fantastic here, not just in combat but the moments in between. Most people who know who Donnie Yen is won't be surprised to hear that he fits in here perfectly, but he's even better than you expect. Anderson also gives a fun performance as a man who just seems to be a mercenary waiting for the right price, but fans of the series will note from the beginning that this badass has a dog, and this universe values puppies and people who love them.

The only minor flaw in Wick's armor here is a bit of narrative self-indulgence. There are a few scenes, especially early, when it feels like a beat is going on a bit too long, and I do think there's a slightly tighter (if you can say 150 minutes would be tight) version of this film that's simply perfect.

Fans won't care. Much has been made of what brings people out to theaters in the post-pandemic, streaming-heavy world, and this is a movie that should be seen with a cheering, excited crowd. It has that contagious energy we love in action films—a whole room of people marveling at the ingenuity and intensity of what's unfolding in front of them. It's a movie that's meant to be watched loud and big. John Wick has fought hard for it.

This review was filed from the North American premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. "John Wick: Chapter 4" opens on March 24 th .

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

169 minutes

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

Donnie Yen as Caine

Ian McShane as Winston

Bill Skarsgård as Marquis de Gramont

Laurence Fishburne as Bowery King

Clancy Brown as The Harbinger

Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu

Lance Reddick as Charon

Shamier Anderson as Tracker

Rina Sawayama as Akira

Scott Adkins as Killa

Marko Zaror as Chidi

Natalia Tena as Katia

George Georgiou as The Elder

• Chad Stahelski

Writer (based on characters created by)

• Derek Kolstad
• Shay Hatten
• Michael Finch

Cinematographer

• Dan Laustsen
• Evan Schiff
• Tyler Bates
• Joel J. Richard

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• Movie Review

John Wick: Chapter 4 is unrelenting in every sense of the word

John wick 4 is a supersized all-you-can-eat buffet of the franchise’s signature dishes: bullet-riddled revenge, teeth-chattering action sequences, and gossamer-thin characters..

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

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Lionsgate’s John Wick movies have always been over-the-top action / thriller joyrides more focused on dazzling you with visceral, expertly choreographed action sequences than trying to tell the most coherent stories about stylish assassins . Director Chad Stahelski’s John Wick: Chapter 4 is no exception. And it abundantly delivers on the franchise’s hallmarks — snazzy guns, lovable dogs, and one very haggard man in black — by picking up right where 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum left off.

Were this just any old chapter in the John Wick saga, it’d be fair to call the newest film slightly above average compared to its predecessors — and a testament to how far the franchise has come. But John Wick: Chapter 4 wants to be as monumental and seminal as it is bombastic — aspirations that the feature doesn’t quite manage to achieve despite giving it its best shot.

After three films of simply wanting to be left the hell alone, then wanting revenge, wanting to be left alone some more, and then being forced to go on the run, dog-loving widower and super-assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is tired but still very intent on making sure that the High Table gets what’s coming to it for trying to kill him. John Wick: Chapter 4 presumes Parabellum is still fresh in your mind as it immediately drops you right back into Wick’s jet-setting life of journeying to far-off places and popping off as many shots as it takes until his various targets are chock full of bullet wounds and quite dead.

With Wick still running around the world and demolishing virtually every single person who crosses his path, the High Table’s powers that be have every reason to be scared that he’ll find them and put them in the ground. That fear is what pushes the shadowy organization to start making the bold changes that set John Wick: Chapter 4 ’s story in motion.

Though John Wick’s just a man, Chapter 4 leans into the idea of him being the man (in black) — an assassin so clad in plot armor that he simply can’t be killed by conventional means or by following the ancient rules that made the High Table into the thriving operation that it is.

The Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) isn’t just another trained killer gunner for Wick’s head. He’s a high-ranking High Table member who speaks for the entire organization when he lets Wick’s longtime allies Winston Scott (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick) know that their ties to him will bring nothing but ruin into their lives. But John Wick: Chapter 4 also frames the Marquis as the High Table’s destructive arbiter of change — an embodiment of the future clashing with the past — and the existential fear he elicits in his fellow killers is one of the more interesting elements of the film.

The Marquis also gives Wick a singular convenient target to focus on as he works toward making the High Table pay for what it’s done to him and giving him back his freedom. But between Wick and the Marquis are hundreds, if not thousands, of trained killers, like blind swordsman Caine (Donnie Yen) dead set on collecting the ever-increasing bounty looming over the excommunicado-ed man’s head.

When Chapter 4 ’s purely focused on detailing how Wick methodically mows down his pursuers, you can feel just how in their elements stuntman-turned-director Stahelski and Reeves are. But in its many moments where the movie’s either building up to or cooling down from its big set pieces, there’s both a wobbliness and a narrative thinness that ends up highlighting how overlong and somewhat repetitive Chapter 4 ultimately feels.

While Chapter 4 does eventually pit Wick against the Marquis, it’s only after the former goes on a globe-trekking journey to get all the right tools and make the right alliances to be able to challenge the High Table head-on. Wick’s quest takes him to a Japanese branch of the Continental run by series newcomers Koji Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his daughter Akira (Rina Sawayama) — neither of whom know what to make of the mysterious Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson), a notebook-toting tracker who travels with a German shepherd.

Because Chapter 4 ’s really about contemplating the future, and because the movie couldn’t just be about Wick taking on the world, all of the new faces are welcome additions. Both Sawayama and Anderson are captivating as two of the movie’s most distinct, personality-forward fighters who — because of their charisma and solid acting choices — stand out in sprawling fight sequences overstuffed with large groups of stunt performers brawling. But John Wick: Chapter 4 spends so much of its 169-minute runtime focused on Wick doing things we’ve seen him do a few times over at this point that few of the movie’s characters end up feeling like real people.

The John Wick movies are about action first, character second, and plot maybe fourth, after tailored suits, but there is so little depth to a lot of the Shay Hatten and Michael Finch script that even John Wick himself sometimes comes across as if he isn’t sure why he’s fighting or how he feels about it. As with the previous John Wick movies, Chapter 4 ’s prolonged fight scenes are kinetic, brutally beautiful odes to the art of stunt work, and each feels crafted with diehard fans of the franchise in mind. But the film’s approach to fan service — letting less action-filled scenes run more than a bit too long and making sure that almost every one of its background fistfights gets ample screen time — has the effect of making John Wick: Chapter 4 feel needlessly drawn out.

The ability of the John Wick movies to make you feel the blows as you watch Wick take and dole out beatings is one of the more impressive things about them, and it’s something Chapter 4 ’s able to do well to a point. But the movie is so chock full of battles that feel like they were stuffed into the movie to make it bigger that they start to mean less as the story unfolds and the body count rises.

The movie’s length also has an interesting way of emphasizing just how little John Wick actually says, which has a curious way of making him seem a bit checked out and disengaged from the people around him, who all speak almost exclusively in grim aphorisms. But Reeves’ aloof deadpan does work as a counterbalance to Chapter 4 ’s forays into goofy physical comedy. Some of them work, like a scene involving Wick fighting his way up a flight of stairs and then falling back down it. But others, like Wick’s fight with an obese High Table head from Germany named Killa (portrayed by Scott Adkins in a fat suit), do not — and come across as cringe at best, mean-spirited at worst.

John Wick: Chapter 4 isn’t a movie you casually sit down to watch apropos of nothing. It’s a commitment, both in terms of how long it is and in how invested you really have to be in the idea of John Wick for the film to be engaging. To its credit, John Wick: Chapter 4 does an admirable job of leaving open possibilities for a future filled with stories of some of the movie’s new supporting characters. It comes as a pleasant surprise given how much time this story spends trying to remind you that Wick is the baddest man in town.

John Wick: Chapter 4 also stars Laurence Fishburne, Clancy Brown, Natalia Tena, Marko Zaror, Bridget Moynahan, and George Georgiou. The movie hits theaters on March 24th.

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John Wick: Chapter 4 Is On Pace To Have The Highest Rotten Tomatoes Score In The Whole Franchise

John Wick fans should be excited.

We ended up having to wait much longer for John Wick : Chapter 4 than initially anticipated (it was first slated to come out May 21, 2021), but fortunately for fans, that wait is almost over. However, there are a select few who’ve been able to see this 2023 new movie release early, and judging by the reviews for Chapter 4 , this action franchise has another critical hit on its hands. In fact, Chapter 4 is on pace to have the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of all the John Wick movies.

The John Wick: Chapter 4 reviews started coming in last week, just a few weeks after the first social media reactions were shared . So far there are 86 critic reviews logged on Chapter 4 ’s Rotten Tomatoes page , with 80 of them leaning “Fresh” and just six of them being “Rotten,” with CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg giving the movie 4.5 out of 5 stars in his review . That leaves Chapter 4 with a 93% Tomatometer at the time of this writing. For comparison, the first John Wick movie is ranked at 86% and both Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 - Parabellum are ranked at 89%.

Now granted, with just a few more days to go until John Wick: Chapter 4 opens wide, more reviews will likely come in for the movie, and some of them may skew more negatively. So it’s entirely possible that Chapter 4 ’s Rotten Tomatoes score could decrease, perhaps even ending up lower than were its immediate two predecessors are. Still, the fact that Chapter 4 is currently the most critically acclaimed of the John Wick movies is impressive, and even if it doesn’t permanently stay at 93%, it’s still sounds like it’ll be an enjoyable experience for fans of this franchise and anyone looking for a good action romp.

Along with Keanu Reeves obviously back as John Wick, this latest installment features the return of Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King, Ian McShane as Winston Scott and the late Lance Reddick as Charon. The newcomers in John Wick: Chapter 4 ’s cast include Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins and Clancy Brown. Director Chad Stahelski resumed his directing duties, and Shay Hatten and Michael Finch wrote the script.

John Wick fans can also take comfort knowing that Chapter 4 isn’t the only offering this franchise has coming up. Yes, John Wick: Chapter 5 isn’t guaranteed just yet, but The Continental series is now on track to premiere on Peacock later this year, where we’ll learn how Winston Scott rose to power in the 1970s. Additionally, Ana de Armas is leading the Ballerina spinoff , which will see Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick and Anjelica Huston (who plays The Director in the the third John Wick movie) reprising their roles, as well as Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus , and Catalina Sandino Moreno playing yet-to-be-identified characters.

You can see for yourself how John Wick: Chapter 4 turned out starting this Friday, March 24. If you’d like to rewatch the first three movies ahead of time, you can stream them with a Peacock subscription .

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Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.

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‘John Wick: Chapter 4’: Longer, bloodier and better than ever

The fourth installment in the martial arts action franchise ups the ante, with stunning set pieces of fight choreography

Is “John Wick: Chapter 4” the best John Wick movie in the franchise, as early reviews suggest ?

Quite possibly. But what does that even mean? Readers who have never seen Keanu Reeves as John Wick, who don’t even like violent action movies — especially not ones about an elite assassin in a fantastical hierarchy of three-piece-suited assassins that is run like an efficient corporation, on the run from his co-workers, and with a multimillion-dollar bounty on his head — won’t understand why the film deserves the star rating I’ve given it. They might even assume that it is great (and it is pretty great) by the same metric that “ The Quiet Girl ” is great.

That would be a mistake. Apples, as they say, must be not be compared to oranges, and certainly not blood oranges, which is perhaps the better analogy for this tart, tangy and juicily sanguineous offering. But fans of the films will understand. They will even accept — nay, demand — the repetition of the series’s formulaic plots, which involve both flight and pursuit.

Triggered by the killing of the titular professional hit man’s dog and the theft of his car, the first “ John Wick ” was essentially a revenge thriller centering on John, or Mr. Wick as he is just as commonly known, and a Russian crime lord (Michael Nyqvist). John’s pursuit of Viggo Tarasov is slightly counterbalanced by the antihero’s efforts to avoid being killed.

Over time, the mix of fight and flight has shifted, with John fully becoming the quarry by the end of “ John Wick: Chapter 2 ,” in the wake of his killing of a Neapolitan Mafioso (Riccardo Scamarcio). As “ John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum ” gets underway, John is being hounded by a lethal Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon), along with nearly every hired gun in the world, having been declared “excommunicado,” or excommunicated, for the murder of Santino D’Antonio on the “sanctified” grounds of a New York City hotel catering exclusively to killers. (Come to think of it, the society to which John belongs — and under whose arcane rules he operates — is more like a religion than a company.)

The point is, these plots are all the same, or at least very similar: John wants someone dead, and someone — or a lot of someones — wants him dead in return. In “Chapter 4,” the main someone is the effete Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard), the French representative to the High Table, the governing body of the international crime syndicate for which John works. At nearly three hours long, it’s the most John Wick-ian of all the John Wick films, by virtue of the simple fact that there is more time to lavish on the films’ fans exactly what they want, in spectacular fashion.

And boy, is it spectacular. Would that all action films were so well and cleanly choreographed. (Are you listening, Marvel and DC?) To be sure, the Wick films are not for everyone. But returning director Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman and stunt coordinator, knows one thing: If you’re going to do something, do it right.

Stahelski ups the ante from the previous three films with one amazing set piece after another — a chase scene set in the desert, on horseback; a bloodbath in a discothèque decorated with waterfalls; visits to Osaka and Berlin — each sequence outdoing the one before. The most talked-about fight scenes will surely be two staged in Paris: the first taking place in the traffic roundabout encircling the Arc de Triomphe, known as the Étoile, or star, for its 12 radiating avenues; the second taking place on the 222 steps of the Rue Foyatier leading up to the Sacré-Coeur cathedral, where a climactic duel takes place at dawn between John and the Marquis.

Also in attendance: two secondary antagonists, a killer known only as the Tracker (Shamier Anderson) and a blind assassin named Caine, beautifully brought to life by Chinese martial arts legend Donnie Yen. ( According to Yen , the actor requested a change to the character’s stereotypically Asian name — originally “Shang or Chang,” he says, in the screenplay by Michael Finch, Shay Hatten and Derek Kolstad. Intentionally or not, his character now suggests an homage to David Carradine’s Kwai Chang Caine from the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu.”)

Clearly, Stahelski is a fan of martial arts lore and its elaborate — one might even say perverse — codes of chivalry, ethics and honor among rogues. (The call letters of a radio station in the film are, notably, WUXIA .) He is not alone. If you are also an acolyte in the church of chopsocky, samurai swordplay and gunslinging gangsters, you could do a lot worse than “John Wick: Chapter 4.” In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to do better.

Why not four stars? Because I want to save room for improvement, in case there’s a “Chapter 5.”

R. At area theaters. Contains pervasive strong violence and some coarse language. 169 minutes.

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Weekend Box Office

Weekend box office results: furiosa edges out  garfield in worst memorial day weekend in decades, george miller's action-packed prequel narrowly beat the garfield movie over the three-day weekend but suffered the worst overall memorial day debut since 1989..

TAGGED AS: Box Office , movies , news

The justifications have been flying this month for the poor start to the summer box office. For The Fall Guy we heard blame for a weak, forgotten IP and forthcoming streaming. The Apes movie got a bit of a pass for falling in line with — if not breaking — records. John Krasinski’s family film IF was no Super Mario or Harry Potter but was among the top live-action PG-rated original openings of all-time. So how will the excuses read for Furiosa ? One dreads the modern implications of only including Mad Max as a titular reminder and how that plays on the internet. But maybe nine years of cementing Fury Road as one of the best action spectacles of all-time wasn’t enough, or maybe some theaters are just too expensive and people are staying home waiting for those PVOD prices. Whatever the answer is, the truth is that y’all missing out.

King of the Crop: Furiosa Edges Out  Garfield in Worst Memorial Day Weekend in Decades

There is something oddly appropriate about Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga having the lowest 3-day Memorial Day weekend ($26.3 million) for a No. 1 film since 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($29.3 million), a film that began with an origin prologue complete with its own Praetorian Jack character. If you saw the movie, you know. Plus Furiosa’ s $32 million 4-day holiday weekend is the lowest since 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ($33.9 million), which was indeed a prequel and, at the time, was the highest opening weekend of all time, besting 1983’s Return of the Jedi . Furiosa thus puts itself in league with one of the best prequels of all time in two ways. (Critically, that tracks if you wish to argue.) Furiosa’ s 90% also makes it the second-best reviewed film of the year in wide release in over 3,000 theaters, behind only the other desert-based sci-fi follow-up, Dune Part Two (92%), which is also the highest-grossing film of the year.

Any other number is a consolation prize to George Miller’s film, which reportedly cost $168 million. That’s a bit higher than 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road ($150 million) which opened to $45.4 million the week before Memorial Day (finishing second to Pitch Perfect 2 ) and went on to gross $153 million domestic and $376 million worldwide. Even that amounted to a slight disappointment given its budget, but its legacy was further cemented with 10 Oscar nominations and six victories (missing out on Best Picture to Spotlight and Best Director to The Revenant ). These numbers are even more disappointing. No film since Notting Hill in 1999 to open below $30 million over this 3-day weekend or even below $33 million over the 4-day Memorial Day holiday has grossed over $100 million domestic. Ask Tomorrowland , Sex and the City 2 , Prince of Persia , and Alice Through the Looking Glass how they did.

People have asked why anyone might think a new Mad Max film might not do well, given the presumed limited appeal and fanbase over the years. Well, with inflation, Miller’s 1981 sequel Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior would amount to nearly a $77 million gross. That led three years later to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome inflating to a $105 million gross. 20 years later, Fury Road made $153.6 million. Today, that would amount to over $203 million. So in many ways, these numbers have only grown over time, and Furiosa is the first time that they would ever shrink. The hope was certainly that Fury Road brought more into the fold instead of folding into the usual law of diminishing returns for franchise entries. Internationally, the film added another $33 million over the weekend, and if worldwide markets have a ceiling on the Saga as well, it is going to be hard in keeping this from becoming one of the biggest financial disappointments of 2024.

The Top 10 and Beyond:  Garfield takes second,  IF Falls to Third

Finishing in second place, but not by much, is Sony’s The Garfield Movie . The animated film opened to $24 million over the weekend and an estimated $31.1 million through the holiday. At 38% with critics, it is the worst-reviewed animated wide release since 2021’s The Addams Family 2 (28%), though not quite as bad as the live-action Garfield films from 2004 (14%) and 2006 (12%). As animated releases in May go, The Garfield Movie ranks between Epic ($33.5 million) and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron ($17.7 million). In other words, Garfield is no Angry Birds , which opened even higher with $38.1 million and finished nearly identical to Epic’ s $107.5 million. That’s not the worst opening for a $60 million production, and even if the film fails to reach $100 million domestic, it could still clear a profit, as both live-action Garfields grossed over $242 million combined internationally. The animated film has made an additional $66 million overseas.

Last week’s No. 1 family film fell back to third place this week. John Krasinski’s IF dropped 50% down to $16.1 million over the weekend and an estimated $21 million through the holiday for an 11-day total of $63.5 million. These numbers are slightly better than that of Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland , another live-action PG film about an older male stranger guiding a young girl on a fantastical adventure into a secret world. That film had $64.9 million after its 11th day, though IF’ s second three-day weekend is better than Tomorrowland’ s $14.3 million. Therefore it is trending for north of $95 million and may just squeak over the $100 million line. A small drop next week would certainly help, though maybe not enough to turn a profit for Paramount, as its worldwide haul for the $110 million production stands at $103 million.

In fourth place is the biggest success — or lowest disappointment — of the summer season so far. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes fell 47% to $13.4 million over the weekend, giving it a 17-day total of $122.9 million. Add another estimated $3.7 million into the holiday and it is at $126.6 million. The film now stands closely with John Wick: Chapter 3 , which had $125.7 million after 17 days after an $11 million third weekend. That puts Apes on a path for somewhere around $170-175 million domestic, leaving the international audience to fill in the roughly $225 million it would need to get out of the red like most films this summer. Currently its international gross stands at $172 million. This franchise clearly had no problem sitting out seven years even after the lowest grossing of the previous trilogy. Kingdom will outgross War in the next two weeks, while Furiosa will end up with less than Fury Road . In related news, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire dropped out of the top 10 this week, grossing under a million, and it’s around $196 million domestic. Kung Fu Panda 4 made under a half-million and is over $193 million.

Down to fifth place is the poster child for the season’s disappointment, The Fall Guy , which debuted on PVOD this past Tuesday while it is still in the top five at the box office. It added nearly $6 million over the weekend and $7.6 million through the weekend for a 25-day total of $73.9 million domestic and $145 million worldwide. That’s a similar fourth weekend to Prince of Persia ($5.56 million), which had $80.8 million after 24 days. The Fall Guy is about $7 million off that pace, suggesting a final gross somewhere between $80-85 million domestic.

Falling three spots to sixth place is Renny Harlin’s The Strangers: Chapter 1 . At $5.5 million for the weekend and an estimated $6.9 million for the holiday, the first part of the trilogy has made $22.6 million to date. That takes care of its $8.5 million production tag nicely. It is also more than $2.5 million ahead of where Night Swim was on day 11, and that is still the highest-grossing horror film of the year.

In seventh place is the latest release from Angel Studios, Sight , with Greg Kinnear and Terry Chen. It grossed $2.8 million over the weekend and an estimated $3.6 million through the holiday. Challengers made another $1.42 million over the weekend and is close to $47 million through the holiday. The $55 million production has grossed close to $82 million worldwide. That is better than the other toxic relationship film in the top 10. The Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black grossed just another million and has made just $5.2 million to date. It has made an additional $38.7 million overseas.

Neon expanded Pamela Adlon’s pregnancy comedy Babes into 590 theaters this weekend, and that was good enough to get it into the top 10 with $1.32 million. That is roughly the same amount that Sony Classics got expanding Wicked Little Letters into 1,002 theaters in its second weekend ($1.34 million). That film has grossed $4.85 million to date. Through the holiday, Babes is up to $1.8 million. Jan Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow grossed an estimated $514,000 over the weekend and $642,000 through the holiday bringing its total to around $2.8 million. Love Lies Bleeding , also released by A24, remains the highest-grossing film of the year to open in limited release with $8.3 million.

On the Vine: Daisy Ridley Becomes the  Young Woman and the Sea

Audiences will get a second shot at this week’s new releases next week as the rankings may not change that much. Disney is releasing Young Woman and the Sea with Daisy Ridley as the first woman to swim the English Channel. Roadside has Summer Camp with Kathy Bates and Diane Keaton, and IFC is releasing what it hopes to be the next horror discovery of the year, In a Violent Nature . You can hear the audience reaction to one of the film’s gnarliest kills from the Chicago Critics Film Festival right here .

Full List of Box Office Results: May 24-27, 2024

• $26.3 million (3-day), $32 million (4-day) –  $32 million total

• $24.1 million (3-day), $31.1 million (4-day) –  $31.1 million total
• $16.1 million (3-day), $21 million (4-day) – $63.5 million total
• $13.4 million (3-day), $17.2 million (4-day) – $126.6 million total
• $5.9 million (3-day), $7.6 million (4-day) – $73.9 million total
• $5.5 million (3-day), $6.9 million (4-day) – $22.6 million total

• $2.8 million (3-day), $3.6 million (4-day) – $3.6 million total
• $1.42 million (3-day), $1.76 million (4-day) – $46.8 million total
• $1.08 million (3-day), $1.35 million (4-day) – $5.2 million total
• $1.06 million (3-day), $1.23 million (4-day) – $1.46 million total

Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box office on  Business First AM  with Angela Miles and his  Movie Madness Podcast .

[box office figures via  Box Office Mojo ]

Thumbnail image by ©Warner Bros. Pictures

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Screen Rant

Ava duvernay's 2024 movie with 97% rotten tomatoes audience score gets streaming release date.

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Ava DuVernay's 10 Best TV Shows & Movies, Ranked (According To IMDb)

It prequel show brings back bill skarsgård as pennywise for welcome to derry, cillian murphy's 28 years later return was perfectly set up by this story 15 years ago.

• Origin , written and directed by Ava Duvernay, receives a streaming release on Hulu on June 10 after a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Origin is highly acclaimed but underseen; it received standing ovations at film festivals and has an 82% critics score.
• Despite strong reviews, Origin only made $4.9 million in theaters, but its Hulu release may change its popularity.

Origin , Ava Duvernay's 2024 movie with a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, receives a streaming release date. Written and directed by Duvernay – known for Selma , 13th , and 2018's A Wrinkle in Time – the biographical film is based on the life of author Isabel Wilkerson as she travels the world writing her 2020 book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents , which explores how historical caste systems influenced racism in the United States. The Oscar-nominated Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor ( King Richard ) leads the film's cast alongside Jon Bernthal, Emmy winner Niecy Nash-Betts ( Monster ), Finn Wittrock, Vera Farmiga, Connie Nielsen, and Nick Offerman.

Now, after its theatrical release earlier this year, Duvernay's latest film has received a streaming release date. According to Collider , Origin is coming to Hulu on June 10 . The movie has been available to rent/purchase on digital platforms since March.

Origin Is Highly Acclaimed, But Criminally Underseen

It made only $4.9m at the box office.

Considering its critical and audience response, Origin has arguably emerged as one of the best movies to be released in 2024 so far. However, considering its low box office numbers and overall little awareness among the general public, it's been criminally underseen. In September 2023, Origin screened at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals to glowing reception and standing ovations. Overall, Origin reviews call it a compelling drama that boldly tackles profound questions and pays tribute to its source material with strong performances that help drive its deeply emotional narrative .

Due to its positive reviews, Origin 's Rotten Tomatoes score is 82% from the critics , continuing a trend for the acclaimed director, as almost all her films have received a "Fresh" rating on the review aggregator. This includes her 2014 Martin Luther King Jr. biopic, Selma , which boasts a near-perfect 99% Rotten Tomatoes score. Furthermore, her Netflix documentary about mass incarceration, 13th , has a 97% score, and her prior indie dramas, I Will Follow and Middle of Nowhere , have received 82% and 88% scores, respectively.

Ava DuVernay's Best TV Shows & Movies, Ranked

From award-winning movies to acclaimed TV shows, Ava DuVernay is a well-respected voice. Here are her 10 best works so far (according to IMDb).

Those who saw Origin have appreciated it, indicated by its 97% score with 500+ verified ratings from audiences, who also consider it an exceptional work that delivers impactful drama and a valuable message for viewers. The only problem so far is that Origin has been criminally underseen, making only $4.9 million at the box office on a $38 million budget . However, with Origin arriving on Hulu soon, hopefully its streaming availability will change that.

Origin is currently available to rent/purchase on digital platforms, such as Prime Video from $5.99.

Source: Collider

Based on the life and the book of Isabel Wilkerson, Origin is a biographical drama film by writer-director Ava DuVernay. Isabel, contending with tragedy in her own life, sets off on a journey of self-discovery and inspiration to craft her award-winning book,  Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.

The 10 Best Martial Arts Movie Stars, Ranked

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The martial arts genre seems to be one that’ll remain eternal, perhaps not as popular as it once was, but never waning to the point where people will become disinterested. There’s an undeniable bluntness and spectacle to such movies, given they tend to feature frequent fight scenes, stunt work, and amazing action choreography, more often than not highlighting hand-to-hand combat.

Directors and fight scene choreographers are obviously essential, but great stars are similarly important , because martial arts movies need to sell the action, and it’s the actors who play a massive role in making fight sequences believable. The following actors all have charisma, immense physicality, and a certain believability when it comes to action (often because they’ll do their own stunts). From great to greatest, here’s an attempt to go through some of the best of the best to ever be involved with the genre, particularly in starring roles.

10 Iko Uwais

Movies include: 'the raid' (2011), 'the raid 2' (2014), 'the night comes for us' (2018).

Though he only found breakout success in 2011, with The Raid , Iko Uwais has already established himself worthy of being counted among the greats when it comes to martial arts movie stars. The Raid was such an incredible, pure, brutal, and sickeningly convincing action/thriller movie , and then 2014’s The Raid 2 just escalated things even more, with it becoming a surprisingly epic gangster movie on top of an action flick.

These two films are easily Uwais’ most iconic to date, and as the protagonist of both, he’s essential to a huge number of iconic action scenes spread across the two films. Hollywood has so far underused him in films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the fourth Expendables movie , but anyone who’s seen The Raid and wants more Iko Uwais should check out the (also brutal) The Night Comes for Us , where he once again shines in a prominent role.

9 Sonny Chiba

Movies include: 'kill bill vol. 1' (2003), 'the street fighter' (1974), 'wolf guy' (1975).

Sonny Chiba has a memorable supporting role in the first volume of Kill Bill , which is a great martial arts movie, though Chiba himself doesn’t get to show off his martial arts skills. Anyone wanting Sonny Chiba to get into the actual action of an action movie might have to travel back a few decades, back to when he was a massive star in Japan, especially during the 1970s .

He was the sort of actor who considerably elevated what might’ve ordinarily been rather average action flicks, with The Street Fighter series, Wolf Guy , and Dragon Princess being some of his best films from the era. It’s pretty clear Quentin Tarantino was a big fan of Chiba, given Kill Bill homages the sort of martial arts movies he starred in while also casting the actor in the pivotal role of sword-smith Hattori Hanzō.

8 Donnie Yen

Movies include: 'hero' (2002), 'ip man' (2008), 'john wick: chapter 4' (2023).

Faring a little better in Hollywood to date than Iko Uwais , Donnie Yen might be most recognizable to viewers in the West for his roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and John Wick: Chapter 4 . Funnily enough, both movies saw him playing a blind character, though in both instances, lacking eyesight did very little to slow down his combat abilities (especially so in John Wick ).

He’s had plenty of noteworthy non-American movie roles, too, starring in the long-running biographical Ip Man series , as well as being featured in Once Upon a Time in China II in 1992, and New Dragon Gate Inn from that same year . He’s consistently great whenever called upon to take part in an action scene, and the latest John Wick suggests he’s not going to slow down any time soon, since Yen turned 60 the same year that film came out.

7 Chow Yun-fat

Movies include: 'crouching tiger, hidden dragon' (2000), 'curse of the golden flower' (2006), 'the killer' (1989).

There’s an argument to be made that anyone who had a prominent role in the creation of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is worthy of being considered an icon within the martial arts genre. It offered something new to martial arts movies as a whole, homaging classic wuxia movies while making the whole thing more approachable than ever before. Chow Yun-fat was well-established before 2000 as an action movie star, but Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon just made him even more of a legend.

Some of his other movies feature gunfights more than fist/sword fights , but there’s a physicality to the roles he plays in movies like The Killer and Hard Boiled that makes those films almost feel like martial arts movies, at least in some scenes. And then there are other genuine/more traditional martial arts movies he starred in, including 2006’s Curse of the Golden Flower , which scratches a similar itch to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by also being beautiful, visually bold, and dramatically impactful .

Movies include: 'Hero' (2002), 'Fearless' (2006), 'Once Upon a Time in China' (1991)

Jet Li was born the same year as Donnie Yen, and the two have both starred together on more than one occasion, including in Hero and Once Upon a Time in China II . In both those instances at least, though, Li played the central character, and when it comes to Once Upon a Time in China , he’s the star across that series’ initial trilogy (three films telling an epic story, all released in 1991 and 1992).

Other Jet Li martial arts movies that prove seriously impressive include Tai-Chi Master (1993), Fist of Legend (1994), and Fearless (2006) . He became fairly well-known in Hollywood, too, thanks to starring in the first three Expendables movies and Mulan (2020)… admittedly, those aren’t as good as the classic Chinese films he’s starred in, but it’s nevertheless worth mentioning that he’s a martial arts star who’s achieved true international recognition.

5 Sammo Hung

Movies include: 'project a' (1986), 'ip man 2' (2010), 'the millionaires’ express' (1986).

It would be nearly impossible to count the number of iconic action sequences Sammo Hung’s been a part of, as he started out as a martial arts actor when he was very young, appearing in uncredited/background roles for a while . He slowly rose up the ranks, so to speak, and eventually became a somewhat unlikely leading man, as well as a skilled director of various action movies, too.

Hung brings a unique physicality to the sorts of fights his characters get involved in, as he has a large frame yet can still move just as fast as just about anyone else. He stands out among other martial arts movie actors in a good way, and has been at the forefront of numerous classic action flicks, including The Millionaires’ Express and Project A , as well as more recent films like the second entry in the Donnie Yen-starring Ip Man series.

4 Michelle Yeoh

Movies include: 'everything everywhere all at once' (2022), 'crouching tiger, hidden dragon' (2000), 'wing chun' (1994).

The landscape of martial arts cinema in decades past tended to be more than a bit male-dominated, but Michelle Yeoh proves it's unfair how actresses generally weren't given as many opportunities to shine, given she’s just as iconic as all the great male leads in the genre. She’s been kicking all sorts of ass for decades now, with early films like Yes, Madam! and Magnificent Warriors still – for the most part – holding up extremely well.

She’s never seemed to slow down when it came to picking action movie roles, either, as she played a lead role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon alongside Chow Yun-fat, and also had perhaps the best role of her entire career as recently as 2022, with Everything, Everywhere All at Once . That Best Picture winner shows she can do a lot more than just action, too, but when there’s a fight scene to be fought, few other stars – be they male or female – are as capable as Yeoh consistently is.

3 Gordon Liu

Movies include: 'kill bill vol. 1' (2003) & 'vol. 2' (2004), 'the 36th chamber of shaolin, (1978), 'the 8 diagram pole fighter' (1984).

It feels a bit unfair to only highlight one actor who’s inextricably linked to Shaw Brothers Studio, but Gordon Liu is debatably the best star who had breakout success with the studio. Whether it was in unique martial arts movies like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin or all-out bloodbaths like The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter , Liu continually showed how he always understood the assignment.

Like with Sonny Chiba, Quentin Tarantino was clearly a fan, and he ended up giving Gordon Liu not one, but two roles in Kill Bill: one as the leader of the Crazy 88 in Vol . 1, and then a meatier/more dialogue-heavy role as Pai Mei in Vol. 2 . Those movies are probably where most people in the West will know Liu from, but his dozens of performances in martial arts movies of old – often in the starring role – shouldn’t be overlooked by anyone who loves old-school martial arts action.

2 Bruce Lee

Movies include: 'enter the dragon' (1973), 'fist of fury' (1972), 'the way of the dragon' (1972).

Bruce Lee is basically untouchable, so far as iconic action stars go, even though he only starred in four complete martial arts movies in his tragically short career. A fifth of sorts, Game of Death , was cobbled together after he passed away , with the fight scenes he shot for the movie easily being the best parts of it… well, really, the only watchable parts, because the non-Bruce Lee stuff in that film proves to be kind of rubbish.

But as for the other four movies, they’re all classics, and it’s bittersweet how each one felt a little better or more ambitious than the last, given he could well have continued making even better films. The Big Boss , Fist of Fury , The Way of the Dragon , and then his final completed film, Enter the Dragon , all represent 1970s martial arts action at its best, and are essentially required viewing for anyone who loves action movies. They immortalized Bruce Lee as an icon forever, and though it always hurts knowing he wasn’t able to star in more, the films he did give the world continue to endure and entertain more than half a century on from his passing.

1 Jackie Chan

Movies include: 'drunken master ii' (1994), 'police story' (1985), 'who am i' (1998).

Because of Bruce Lee’s untimely death, Jackie Chan might well just get the edge on Lee when it comes to crowning a single actor as the king of the martial arts genre. Jackie Chan came close to death during many of his grandiose stunts, because when he was at his peak, there seemed to be nothing off-limits to the actor. Outside the stunts, he’s also a perfectionist when it comes to choreographing action , but the dedication almost always pays off.

Before coming to Hollywood, Jackie Chan worked tirelessly within the Hong Kong film industry, starring in (and sometimes directing) dozens of amazing action movies. He’s continued to charm and entertain as he’s gotten older, and proves enjoyable to watch even in his (generally) tamer Hollywood outings. He’s a legend, perhaps the bravest of all time when it comes to performing stunts, and always delivers in the action department. None have ever done the martial arts genre better, and it might well be safe to say that no one will ever top Jackie Chan when both the quality and quantity of one’s filmography are taken into account .

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• Jackie Chan