22/03/2023
For those who’ve been following along on John Wick’s increasingly labyrinthine journey back into the shadowy assassin underworld, things are much different for Keanu Reeves’ coldblooded killer with an affinity for dogs and muscle cars (and guns … lots of guns) than they were when he first burst upon the scene back in 2014. The more grounded and intentionally vague original movie only ever teased the hidden dealings behind The Continental hotel and its assorted trigger-happy society of patrons, peeking out just on the edge of every frame.
Since then, every sequel has dived deeper and deeper into the world-building of the “John Wick” franchise and now, well, audiences have an entire mythology to keep track of as we steamroll toward this week’s release of “John Wick: Chapter 4.”
While everyone owes it to themselves to either revisit or binge all three previous movies to help prepare for the gun-slinging madness in store in the fourth film (read our full review right here), the realities of our nakedly capitalistic enterprise that we call a work week means that simply isn’t an option for many. Who among us has the free time to devote six entire hours to Reeves head-shotting and horse-kicking and eyeball-gouging every rival assassin in sight? Well, I did, but that’s because I’m what you might call a weirdo.
For those with actual lives, I made the tremendous sacrifice of subjecting myself to some of the most mind-meltingly awesome action of any modern franchise around so you don’t have to. Here’s a handy explainer for all the major events in the “John Wick” series that you’ll need to keep in mind while watching the fourth film later this week. Be seein’ you … at the theaters, of course.
ContentsSince then, every sequel has dived deeper and deeper into the world-building of the “John Wick” franchise and now, well,
