Final Fight

Once more into the punch-athon; 2023's John Wick: Chapter 4 is, as of now, the final installment. Like the second and third films, the plot is a thin excuse for an endless fight scene. And that's fun, particularly with Donnie Yen now playing one of the villains.

Just like in Rogue One, he plays a blind fighter. This seems to have become his specialty. If Charlie Cox ever stops being Daredevil, Marvel oughta think about Donnie Yen.

The John Wick films exist in a fantasy version of our reality in which no earthly factions or governments matter; there is only the shadowy organisation controlling lavish, criminal hotels worldwide. Now Wick (Keanu Reeves) must defeat an important nobleman (Bill Skarsgard) to settle things once and for all.

Chapter 4 was filmed on location in France, Germany, New York City, and Japan. The first portion of the film is set in Osaka though the only shot that looks like a real location shot is a rooftop dialogue scene in which the city skyline is blurry in the background.

It could be a lot of cities in Japan. Or South Korea. The rest of the segment looks like it was shot on soundstages. It's not as bad as the time Doctor Who went to Osaka but, since the segments in France and Germany feature major landmarks, it would've been nice to see a few famous locations in Osaka. Maybe the Hep Five Ferris Wheel or Osaka Castle. Umeda Station is mentioned but no recognisable part of it is ever shown (googling now, I see all the interiors were shot in Berlin and the two exteriors were shot in Tokyo).

The two Japanese characters, the manager of Osaka's Continental and his daughter (played by Hiroyuki Sanada and Rina Sawayama, respectively) are both played by people who've lived and worked outside of Japan for a long time. None of this really surprises me; it's notoriously difficult for American productions to make anything authentically Japanese in Japan. If you're curious to know more, I recommend listening to Paul Schrader's commentary track for the Criterion edition of his film Mishima, in which he talks about the slow and difficult process of working within the Japanese film industry to really make a movie feel Japanese.

Donnie Yen is so good in this last John Wick movie, all the other fight scenes seem kind of slow in comparison. Maybe they ought to be making a movie centring on his character next.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is available on Starz.

X Sonnet #1805

A cut of joy appeared as shiny knives.
The rampant dark dispersed the shopper's hell.
We build a brick retreat from rusty lives.
A knowing wink precedes the turtle shell.
Where brains were purposed back to heads
Decisive girls assembled stairs of glaze.
Inviting villains gild their golden beds.
Remember eyes were ever made to gaze.
Beyond the glass, the colours streaked across.
Dividing speed from dreams reduced the stress.
Lobotomised, the patient feels no loss.
So science bows before the angry guess.
As justice danced like wisps of smoke at night,
The bitter bot resumes its endless fight.