John Wick 4 Set The Bar Too High For Action Movies
While The Continental is an admirable attempt, John Wick: Chapter 4 may have set the bar too high for action movies. The Continental is a prequel to the John Wick film series set in the 1970s and exploring the titular establishment. Given that it takes place within the John Wick timeline, The Continental goes to great lengths to emulate the look, style, and tone of the four films starring Keanu Reeves as the now-iconic hitman.
From the expertly realized setting of The Continental in New York to the suave, smooth nature of the characters involved, The Continental episode 1 certainly works as a prequel to the long-running series of films. Another way in which The Continental attempts to emulate John Wick is through the series’ action sequences. Despite these action sequences being fantastic in their own right, they pale in comparison to the series-best action of John Wick: Chapter 4, proving that the final film in the series may have unintentionally hurt spin-offs of the franchise by setting the bar for action much too high.
Why John Wick 4’s Action Is So Incredible
The first major action sequence in The Continental comes in the opening scene of episode 1. The character of Frankie is shown conducting a heist from the titular hotel, resulting in a lengthy action sequence involving him fighting his way through various hitmen and workers of The Continental who are trying to stop him. The entire action sequence in The Continental episode 1 is admittedly awesome and very well-choreographed from the hand-to-hand combat to the iconic gun-fu that has become a part of the John Wick language and is just one reason why The Continental is better than Rotten Tomatoes suggests.
That said, the action sequence in The Continental – no matter how impressive it may be by TV standards and even some theatrical action movies – still cannot match John Wick: Chapter 4‘s action. The reality is that The Continental‘s action failed to bring anything new to the table, instead feeling like a 2014 John Wick action sequence rather than the overly impressive, new, fresh action sequences found in the latest John Wick installment. Given the endless barrage of unique action found in John Wick 4 only six months before The Continental‘s premiere, the latter had trouble beating the former’s most thrilling scenes.
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