As the release of John Wick: Chapter 4 inches closer, Keanu Reeves teases the film's epic car action. Audiences last saw Reeves' titular assassin when Winston (Ian McShane) shot him off a rooftop at the end of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. The upcoming fourth entry will see Wick back in action once more as he works to take down the High Table, forcing him to face off against a new enemy (and some old friends). John Wick: Chapter 4 is once again directed by Chad Stahelski, who has directed all previous installments, and the first trailer for the film has already teased some of the movie's intricate action sequences.

In the most recent issue of Total Film (via Collider), Reeves hypes John Wick: Chapter 4 as the most physically-demanding role of his career and teases that he gets to do some pretty epic car stunts. The actor explains that, like in previous installments, he was trained in order to be able to pull off a lot of his own stunts and that the upcoming sequel is "banana cakes". Check out Reeves' full comment below:

“John Wick: Chapter 4 was the hardest physical role I’ve ever had in my career so far. They really trained me up to be able to have what we call the toolbox. We took the car-driving to the next level, which I really enjoy. There’s 180s, forward-into-reverse 180s, reverse into-forward 270s, drifting… So it was really fun to get a chance to learn those skills, and to play. John Wick: Chapter 4 is our opus. Oh my god, it’s crazy, man! It’s banana cakes!"
How John Wick Changed The Action Movie Genre


The first John Wick movie was released in 2014 and, despite its relatively modest budget, has played an important role in reshaping American action cinema. The movie, which is heavily inspired by Asian action cinema, doesn't rely on quick cuts and a shaky camera to hide hastily choreographed fight scenes or untrained actors. Instead, John Wick puts Reeves front and center with the actor having gone through months of training in order to convincingly fight, drive, and handle firearms. Although the John Wick movies do feature stunt doubles for Reeves for particularly dangerous scenes, Reeves does much of the action himself, and it's all captured with clarity in wider shots without an over-reliance on shaking the camera.


The influence of John Wick can be seen in recent action films like Extraction, which was released in 2020. The latter film follows Chris Hemsworth's Tyler Rake as he attempts to rescue a VIP from a gang-infested city and, like the John Wick movies, it's directed by a former stuntman. The action is easy to follow and expertly choreographed and much of it features Hemsworth in the center of the frame, getting his hands dirty. The 2014 hit also clearly inspired other movies like Nobody, Atomic Blonde, and Bullet Train, the latter two of which were directed by David Leitch, who served as an uncredited co-director on the first John Wick.

How John Wick: Chapter 4 Can Continue To Push The Envelope


Each new movie in the franchise has continued to push Reeves harder, taking his stunts to new levels of intensity. John Wick: Chapter 2, for example, featured a standout car sequence in which Reeves drives his classic American muscle car inside a factory as armed goons attempt to subdue him. John Wick: Chapter 4 is seemingly taking this car action to a new level, with the trailer showing Reeves driving on public streets in Paris while shooting his gun out the window. In addition to all the new car action, the upcoming sequel also seems to not only be increasing the number of enemies Reeves' assassin has to face off against but making the circumstances of these encounters even wilder.