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John Wick: Chapter 4
Movie

John Wick: Chapter 4

2023 • Action, Crime, Thriller

Woke Score
2.2
out of 10

Plot

John Wick uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.

Overall Series Review

John Wick: Chapter 4 is a relentlessly paced action-thriller centered on the protagonist's quest for freedom and peace from a monolithic global criminal organization, The High Table. The core narrative is a personal journey of grief and consequence, focused on John Wick's desire to reclaim his legacy as a loving husband rather than a notorious killer. The film employs a wide-ranging, diverse cast of characters from various nationalities and backgrounds, but their value is determined entirely by their exceptional skill, strength, and adherence to or defiance of the assassin underworld's code, creating a pure meritocracy. The plot is not concerned with contemporary social or political commentary, focusing instead on stylized violence, action choreography, and themes of loyalty, friendship, and sacrifice. The film largely avoids the key tropes associated with the "woke mind virus," keeping its focus on action and an intricate, if cynical, criminal mythology. The only notable point of alignment with the woke framework is the depiction of a spiritual vacuum and moral relativism inherent in the underworld's godless structure.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The film features a globally diverse cast with characters of Japanese, Chinese, Black, and white backgrounds in major and minor roles, but their standing is based solely on their ability as assassins and their rank within the criminal underworld, representing a clear meritocracy. The primary antagonist, a French Marquis from the High Table, is white, but the main heroes and anti-heroes are a diverse group of white, Black, and Asian men and women. The plot contains no lecturing on privilege or systemic oppression based on race; competence is the only currency.

Oikophobia1/10

The narrative's central conflict is against a shadowy, globalized criminal syndicate known as The High Table, a fictional institution with a totalitarian code, not a critique of Western civilization, a specific nation, or traditional heritage. The protagonist's ultimate goal is to return to the simple, domestic life he lost with his wife, and his memory is explicitly honored on his tombstone as a 'loving husband,' valuing the traditional pair-bond and home life.

Feminism2/10

Female characters, such as the Osaka Continental concierge Akira, are highly competent and powerful martial artists, but they are not elevated by the narrative to a 'Mary Sue' status; their skill is earned within the brutal world of assassins. John Wick's masculinity is protective, lethal, and celebrated, forming the unwavering core of the franchise. The theme of his dead wife and the domestic life they shared acts as a continuous, profound counter-message to anti-natalism, as he seeks peace and a final rest to honor his lost marriage.

LGBTQ+1/10

The film does not center alternative sexualities or gender ideology; the subject is entirely absent from the plot and character motivations. The focus is strictly on the survival and honor code of the criminal underworld. Sexual content is noted as limited to none in the film's runtime.

Anti-Theism5/10

The score reflects the nihilistic worldview of the assassin's underworld, which operates in a spiritual vacuum. The High Table utilizes churches and religious terminology for its own corrupt structure, presenting these institutions as 'spiritually dead.' A key line of dialogue embraces moral relativism, questioning the certainty of heaven or hell for the deceased, which reflects a skeptical view of objective, transcendent morality, but this is a cynical atmosphere rather than an overt anti-Christian lecture.