Every John Wick Movie Ranked
The John Wick franchise is without a doubt among the best action movie franchises ever made. From its unparalleled action, filled with jaw-dropping gun-fu and physicality from Keanu Reeves, as well as its exceptional world-building and storytelling. We just simply can’t get enough. Every movie in the franchise is phenomenal, and there isn’t a single bad entry. So, with the highly anticipated John Wick: Chapter 4’s theatrical release looming ever closer, what better time to look back at this action packed franchise, and decide which is the best.
4. John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum (2019)
Releasing in 2019, John Wick: Chapter 3 was bigger, and bolder than both of its predecessors. While Chapter 3 certainly delivers some of the best action scenes in the franchise, outside of that, the movie slows down a little as we anxiously await the next action scene. Its plot never really felt as riveting or as engaging as the previous movies.
The new characters are awesome additions to the franchise, with Sofia, the Adjudicator, Zero and his Shinobi henchmen being among the best. With the new characters comes an exceptional cast, adding Halle Berry, Mark Dacascos, Angelica Houston, and Asia Kate Dillon to this action packed franchise.
Chapter 3 elevates the franchise’s action in completely fresh and interesting fashion, raising the stakes for our favorite assassin. Knife fights, literal dog fights and enemies padded with body armor, allow for numerous creative and jaw-dropping set pieces that warrant many a re-watch. By no stretch of the imagination is John Wick: Chapter 3 bad. However, the other movies in the franchise are only slightly better than its third outing.
3. John Wick (2014)
The first John Wick movie came out of nowhere and immediately cemented itself as an action movie great. Showcasing the franchise’s action and gun-fu for the very first time, and making Keanu Reeves an action movie legend once more. However, looking back, John Wick only really has a couple of small and intimate action scenes, at least compared to its sequels. Yet, the storytelling, characters, and world-building, all but make up for the entries lack of action. On top of that, The cast was sensational. With the likes of Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, John Leguizamo and Willem Dafoe being just a few familiar faces in the franchise.
The assassin underworld presented in the franchise is simply genius, and John Wick dipped its toe into said underworld, by showcasing the badass gold coins, John Wick’s terrifying legend and the always incredible Continental Hotel. John Wick may be a little small in terms of its scale, but it lays the groundwork for the rest of the bombastic and stylish action franchise.
2. John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
After John Wick shot itself onto the scene as an action movie great, fans immediately wanted more. And that came in the form of its sequel John Wick: Chapter 2, which blew all previously conceived expectations out of the water. Chapter 2 delves ever more deeply into the assassin underworld by sending John to Italy and placing a large hit on John’s head, demonstrating how vast the assassin underworld is. This then presents many badass ways of how an assassin may survey a location, purchase guns, as well as getting a tailored bulletproof suit so John can still look fly.
That’s all without mentioning its action, of course. John Wick: Chapter 2’s action is bombastic, creative, exhilarating and every adjective under the sun. John’s shootout through the museum and the Catacombs are certainly highlights, with his many bouts with Cassian also being up there.
John Wick: Chapter 2 once again presents a truly unforgettable cast and badass additions to the John Wick universe. Lawrence Fishbourne, Common and Ruby Rose make brilliant appearances as some unforgettable characters.
1. John Wick: Chapter 4
Although it hasn’t received its theatrical release date yet, John Wick: Chapter 4 is wholly and unquestionably the best in the franchise. Its action is bare none. The world and lore of the John Wick movies are more expensive than ever and the cast will leave action movie fans speechless. It may be the longest film in the franchise bordering the three hour mark, but at no point does the movie slow down or ever start to feel boring.
Its action is bigger, and better than ever, and is helps cement the fact the John Wick franchise is the best action franchise around. Action movie legends like Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins and Hiroyuki Sanada elevate the movie’s already stellar action, and Shamier Anderson does a great job standing alongside these martial arts legends.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is an action movie extravaganza, which is already being hailed by critics and all those who have been lucky enough to witness the movie early, as the best movie in the entire franchise and one of the best action movies ever made.
