John Wick: Chapter 4 is continuing the franchise’s most brilliant tradition. John Wick became a runaway success in late 2014, marking the comeback of Keanu Reeves and sparking the growing John Wick universe. John’s story is set to continue in John Wick: Chapter 4 will he and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) in battle against the High Table.
Keanu Reeves himself has set expectations high for John Wick: Chapter 4, describing it as the franchise’s most action-packed installment. Of course, the standards of gun-fu action martial arts in the John Wick franchise make that far from surprising, with John’s latest movie to see him wielding a set of nunchaku against his enemies.
This also exemplifies the John Wick franchise’s tradition of tipping its hat to classic action scenes that precede it, and in John Wick: Chapter 4’s case, to Bruce Lee himself.
The John Wick Movies Homage Classic Martial Arts Films
John Wick: Chapter 2’s climactic showdown sees John battling a collection of opponents in a hall of mirrors. This was clearly intended as an homage to Lee’s final showdown with the villainous Han (Shieh Kien) in Enter the Dragon, with the added gun-fu twist of the John Wick franchise. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum would take it even further.
In Parabellum’s climactic battle in the Continental, John’s opponents repeatedly kick him through numerous glass cases and windows. This is an homage to Jackie Chan’s 1985 movie Police Story, specifically the climactic mall fight in which Chan and his opponent kick and throw each other into many windows, glass cases, and mirrors. With the John Wick: Chapter 4 movie, there is little doubt remaining that this is an intentional trend on the part of director Chad Stahelski.
How John Wick: Chapter 4's Nunchuk's Continue That Trend
Bruce Lee made the nuchaku famous with his use of the weapon in movies like Enter the Dragon, The Way of the Dragon, Fist of Fury, and Game of Death. Indeed, the nunchaku are Lee’s calling card, signaling the changing of the tide in his fight scenes. John Wick putting the weapons to use in John Wick: Chapter 4 is yet another tribute to martial arts classics by the series.
As a veteran stunt man with decades of experience in many disciplines of martial arts, Chad Stahelski’s martial arts homages should come as little surprise in the John Wick films. Still, with John Wick being so martial arts heavy, the franchise's frequent tributes to martial arts movie classics and legends like Bruce Lee is a fitting staple of the series. Whether the John Wick franchise next tips its hat to Bloodsport, Ip Man, or The Raid movies remains to be seen, but such tributes can likely be expected well beyond John Wick: Chapter 4.