Ballerina is now out in theaters! It’s killing it at the box office and everyone seems to be loving it! This just seems to be a franchise that knows exactly what it’s audience wants and is able to deliver the action goods that they crave every single time. We now have five very well-made and quality action motion pictures to fall back on in the meantime. Just like I do when most movie franchises out there delivers a new entry, it’s time to rank them all from worst to best.
To be honest, choosing between these five movies is like picking your favorite child. You hold them all dearly and always make sure to make room for every single one of them that it’s hard to chose which one you like the most or least. This is one of the few franchises out there that no matter what someone’s ranking of it might be, I just can’t argue with it. I can totally see why someone might have my #5 at #1 or even #1 at #5. These movies are just so well done and gets everything it’s suppose to get right that ranking it alongside each other is quite tricky. If more franchises were as consistently good as John Wick is, we would have very little to complain about.
In case you couldn’t tell, I really enjoy every one of these movies. Just because I have one ranked lower than the others does NOT mean I dislike it. I just don’t like it as much as the other ones. Now that I’ve made that clear, let’s get to the rankings!
5.) From The World of John Wick: Ballerina
The first John Wick spin-off that was NOT directly sent to streaming or involved Mel Gibson, isn’t quite as good as the previous four John Wick movies. It’s simplistic “daughter wants to avenge her father’s death” revenge-tale doesn’t spark the same simplistic charms as “man wants to avenge his wife and puppy” and it’s reported behind the scenes troubles might’ve just prevented it from being as groundbreaking as it’s action-packed quadrilogy it’s springing off of.
Thankfully, it’s still able to hold well on it’s own thanks to it’s strong female lead in Ana De Armas (who is ever bit as good here as she was in her extended cameo in the last 007 film), it’s well-crafted, stylish action that shows our main character Eve standing out in her own way compared to the Boogeyman, and just getting to spend more time in the fascinating world that is John Wick. And although John Wick himself does feel a tad shoehorned in here, any bit of seeing John Wick in action is better than nothing, especially if this is one of the last few times we see Keanu in action.
Perhaps has the film got a more steady production, with a stronger budget that was able to match all of the strong ideas it had with the script, Ballerina could have right on par, if not better than any of the previous John Wick movies. As it stands now, it’s a fun, solid action-flick with a likable main lead and taking place in a universe of still limitless possibilities, even with how Mr. Wick himself. While we are certainly at the point where you can say that Lionsgate is milking the John Wick brand hard, the milk still taste good and is good for your bones!
4.) John Wick: Chapter 2
John Wick: Chapter 2 is able to raise the bar with it’s action, set pieces, cinematography, lore, and world building. It does a very good job of expanding the universe that John Wick himself is a part off and showcases just why he is viewed as the most deadly assassin in the world. Not to mention, it ends on one absolute banger of a cliffhanger that always gets me anxious to watch Chapter 3 immedaitely afterwards.
What holds it back slightly from the other movies is that it can get a bit too bogged down in the action, set pieces, lore, and world building that it loses focus on the central conflict that John Wick himself is going through. This is the one film in the franchise that I find myself fast forwarding through some of the scenes because of how needlessly drawn out they are (especially through the bloody bath scene). There are several times in the middle where the pacing is too slow for my liking that it makes me just want to get to the next big action scene.
Still, if a movie this action-packed and filled with intrigue is one of your least good films in your franchise, you know you’ve done something right. Let’s also not forget it has Lawrence Fishburne with one of the greatest line deliveries in cinema history, “SOMEBODY, PLEASE GET THIS MAN A GUN!” That along makes this whole experience worth it!
3.) John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum
I’ll admit that I did feel a bit cold on my first viewing of this but the more I’ve watched it, the more I’ve come to love it. The first 45 minutes of John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum is absolutely exhilarating as we see John Wick on the run in some of the most breathtaking action set pieces this series has ever delivered. We also get Halle Berry as Sofia in one of the best extended cameos in recent memory (I’m still waiting for her own spin-off!). We even get a climax with John fighting against absurd fanboys of his that is so action-heavy and over-the-top that I can’t help but love it.
The one element that for me and I imagine caught others off guard is that this isn’t necessarily the end “all be all” that the film teases throughout the entire picture. It wasn’t until we get to the ending with the whole “gotcha” twist where Winston betrays John Wick to save his own skin that it’s revealed that this is just another chapter of the story and not necessarily the final chapter itself. This is also when the franchise seemed to fully embraced his over-the-top-ness and commit to being a live-action video game where John Wick is basically a superhero, with unlimited health bars. That’s not a negative for me mind you but I imagine it could be a turn-off for others.
Even with all of that being said, this still works as a gloriously entertaining action flick and a logical character progression from John Wick. Seeing John himself grow even more balls of steel by going from being on the run to running straight towards his enemies really helps evaluate the character even further. There is just something so badass about a man that won’t stop until he meets his goals, no matter how much abuse and punishment he takes along the way.
2.) John Wick
Before the sequels would go even bigger, bolder, lore-heavy, and dive into traditional world building, John Wick was largely a smaller-scale self contained story about a hitman coming out of retirement to avenge the death of his dog, the last piece of his late wife that remained. It may be a rather straightforward and simplistic motivation but that’s all that’s needed. Because what matters most is that we get to see Keanu Reeves kicking ass once again and become even more of a badass than he ever did in The Matrix films.
With this being the original John Wick, this would end up introducing the fun tropes that would become a staple to this franchise. With elements such as the glorified action, awesome stunts, superb lighting and cinematography, an excellent supporting cast full of recognizable talent that all get their moment to shine, and of course, the awesome Keanu Reeves delivering cheesy one-liners in a direct but cool way. Not to mention, the nightclub fight is still one of my favorite action scenes in any movie.
While some might take issues with the simplistic plotting /characterization along with needing to tolerate corny puns and having to suspend your disbelief, anyone else that is able to accept the tropes that have become common with action movies while also wanting something fresh and new should think John Wick is right up their alley. It’s one of those movies that is able to deliver exactly what you would ever want in an action movie and even more. While not quite my favorite one, this is still a near perfect start to perhaps the best modern action film franchise in recent memory.
1.) John Wick: Chapter 4
John Wick: Chapter 4 is an exceptional achievement of not just the John Wick franchise but for the action genre in general. Not since The Raid movies has there been a series of action films that dares to go as big, bold, and as over-the-top as this film does. Working perfectly as John Wick himself getting pushed beyond his reasonable measures along with director Chad Stahelski and crew of pushing themselves to make the most unbelievable and badass film imaginable. Even if Chapter 4 does bring a logical stopping point to John Wick’s story, it leaves plenty of room of other characters in the series to have their stories to continue if anyone wants to go that route.
Yes, the action has never been better choregraphed and executed than it has been here. Yes, the cinematography and pure scope have never looked and felt better than it does here. Yes, just about every noteworthy person in the cast get a moment to shine and scenes that stand out so well you can’t wait until someone uploads them to YouTube. Yes, the near three-hour runtime does not feel daunting in any way. However, what is most impressive of all is how it is able to wrap up the four-movie arc of John Wick in a way that just feels complete and right.
I’m not one that likes to claim when a movie is “perfect” but when it comes to John Wick: Chapter 4 and is able to deliver the goods with an absolute bullet point, it’s hard to bring up any flaws that bring the experience down. Even the cracks in the armor one might bring up may possible not be seen as cracks in the armor to another person but more of a upgrade to that armor. Nevertheless, no matter where this series goes next, I’m willing to stick with it until the end of the line. Bring on John Wick 5 and whatever spin-off you have planned, Lionsgate! I’m all yours!
RIP, Lance Reddick! You will be forever missed!
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