Editor's note: The following contains 'John Wick: Chapter 4' spoilers.After four successful movies that smashed box office expectations, John Wick has established itself as one of the best action franchises ever. We can't get enough of Keanu Reeves mowing down armies of goons, which is why Lionsgate is making an aggressive franchise expansion with the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina movie and the prequel spinoff series The Continental, which we recently revealed is coming out this September. John Wick has also inspired many other neon-infused action movies that try to get a slice of the lucrative cake of the franchise, such as Nobody, Gunpowder Milkshake, Bullet Train, and even Violent Night. But what makes John Wick movies so successful? What is the franchise's formula anyway? With John Wick: Chapter 4 now available, we can say for sure that video game logic is to blame, as the latest adventure of Reeves' assassin embraces AAA games structure with renewed determination. And that is why Chapter 4 is the best movie in the whole franchise.
How Do John Wick Movies Use Video Game Logic?
More often than, video games are used as storytelling devices, just like movies. And especially in the AAA industry, the story is often a game's most important selling point. However, contrary to film, a video game is an interactable medium through which a player experiences the story by constantly making choices. Every input a player gives any game changes what happens on the screen. So, even in titles where players cannot directly affect the course of the story, they can still define which actions they'll take to reach their goal.
As an interactive medium, video games must put player input above realism, leading to the many elements we call "video game logic." For instance, the endurance of a player's character is not affected by the actual damage they sustain. Instead, a health bar or other similar devices measure the survivability of a player's character. That means when playing a game, a part of our brain turns off, ignoring the many bullet wounds, cuts, and contusions a player character gets while exploring an interactive world. All that matters for us, as players, is that the health bar doesn't get fully depleted, which would cause a game over. Something similar happens with Reeve's John Wick, who sustains an immeasurable amount of damage in each new franchise movie.
John Wick: Chapter 4 has more set pieces than any other movie in the franchise. The action of each set piece was also ramped up, which means Reeves is constantly fighting dozens of goons everywhere he goes. As a result, John gets shot at, stabbed, punched, kicked, thew from high places, exploded… There are no limits to how John Wick: Chapter 4 wants to hurt its protagonist. Still, John keeps breathing after each new fight because his health bar is not depleted until the movie's ending.
'John Wick: Chapter 4' Is Aware of Its Video Game Logic
The way John Wick: Chapter 4 measures Reeves' health is not the only thing the movie took from video games. The franchise often uses the usual structure of AAA games, which intercalate cutscenes and playable levels. Similarly, John Wick movies frequently have one breathtaking set piece, followed by a moment of respite where the plot moves forward, which in turn gives way to another spectacular set piece. Everyone holds their shots when the villain needs to make a big speech or the hero must reaffirm his willpower, similar to how players can only watch a cutscene instead of keep attacking. That's more evident for John Wick: Chapter 4 than for previous movies. It's straightforward to detect when the film is on a "cutscene" moment or a "playable" one. And since each set piece of John Wick: Chapter 4 happens in a new environment, we could even say the movie has levels like a video game.
Speaking of levels, each set piece of John Wick: Chapter 4 also follows video game logic by introducing an army of goons that the player character must beat until they face a boss. There's always a big battle against an elite enemy at the end of each of John Wick: Chapter 4 set pieces, which works like a boss battle in a video game. Boss battles are often the highlight of a video game, a challenging obstacle that tests the player's skill. And that's precisely what all the named assassins in John Wick: Chapter 4 are, significant challenges for Reeves to slowly take down, as they also have a huge health bar compared to simple enemies.
The similarities between the John Wick franchise and video games don't end there.
The franchise also uses video game logic to coordinate extras. Since animation is a long and expensive process, video game levels often have non-player characters with which the player cannot interact. They stand there, repeating an animation loop, unresponsive to all the action happening around them. And that's how crowds work in an almost set piece of the John Wick franchise. People just get on with their lives, as if they were stuck in an animation loop, even though assassins are beating each other to a pulp around them. For instance, in John Wick: Chapter 4, the clubhouse crowd stops dancing and starts to run away only when the player character, Keanu Reeves, manages to reach a specific point in the boss fight. That's video game logic to its core and something that highly improves the franchise. Because when filmmakers are not worried about realism, they can entirely focus on making every combat spectacular.
As if all of this was not enough to underline John Wick: Chapter 4 video game logic, the sequel includes a top-down sequence, a classic perspective for action games. Can anyone watch that scene in the abandoned building and not think of Hotline Miami? The whole set piece is a love letter to video game logic, with its over-the-top violence, unique perspective, and enemies that constantly spawn just outside the frame. While the franchise is no stranger to video game logic, John Wick: Chapter 4 takes things to a new level by pushing the boundaries of how cinema can actively incorporate elements from other mediums. And by doing so, John Wick: Chapter 4 delivers some of the best moments in the history of action cinema.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently available in theaters.