John Wick: Chapter 4
NZ release: 23 March 2023
Bloody violence, cruelty and offensive language Rated on: 03 March 2023
What’s it about?
John Wick: Chapter 4 is a neo-noir action thriller about a former assassin who wants to take down his ex-employers, the High Table. Given unlimited resources by the High Table, the Marquis uses John Wick’s friends and allies against him.
The facts
- Directed by Chad Stahelski (John Wick: Chapters 1–3)
- Starring Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen and Bill Skarsgård
- Runtime: 2 hours 49 minutes
- The fourth instalment in the John Wick franchise
Why did it get this rating?
Bloody violence
Most of the film consists of lengthy, highly choreographed, over-the-top fight scenes. The style of the violence is a combination of martial arts combat and gun violence, known as ‘gun-fu’.
Weapons include axes, swords, knives, cars, motorcycles and a variety of guns. Bullets cause clouds of blood mist on impact and blood splatter. Injury detail is hidden by lighting and clothing.
There is a dog who attacks on command, targeting groins and tearing at limbs. While there is no injury detail, the attacks have impact.
Cruelty
A man is stabbed through his hand and made to remove the knife by severing the tendons between his fingers rather than taking the knife straight out.
There are a couple of scenes where a dog is hit during combat.
Offensive language
There is occasional offensive language, including the words “motherf****r”, “f*ck” and “sh*t”.
Further information
Recent featured decisions
Violence, cruelty, offensive language, sex scenes and content that may disturb
When savvy surfer Zephyr is abducted and held captive on a boat by a shark-obsessed serial killer, she must find a way to escape before becoming part of his ritualistic feeding to the sharks below.
Content that may disturb, offensive language
This documentary revisits the tragedy and aftermath of rapper Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, co-organised by Live Nation. Ten people, aged 9 to 27, lost their lives due to poor planning and understaffing of the event.
Told through festivalgoer footage, harrowing 911 calls, and interviews with survivors and families, the film raises questions about the responsibility of artists in an industry that pushes them to amplify their performances to drive revenue.