The following contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4, now in theaters.
As John Wick: Chapter 4 progresses, Keanu Reeves' titular hitman experiences a world of hurt. He's got a big contract out on his head from The High Table, which brings dozens of killers after him in Europe. And these guys are elite, evidenced by Shamier Anderson's Mr. Nobody.
Throw in Donnie Yen's blind assassin, Caine, and John gets damaged like never before in two-and-a-half hours of chaos. But this flick's way more style than substance, asking viewers to suspend disbelief even more than previous movies. In the process, John Wick 4 feels a tad light in terms of the story, with many ridiculous plot holes and unanswered questions arising.
How Does Caine 'See' in John Wick 4?
Now, Caine's basically the movie's Daredevil, but it's never explained how Caine operates. This universe doesn't have superpowers, so it's a huge mystery how he can duck bullets, blades and such when he doesn't have his electronic doorbells around acting as echolocation tools. In fact, Caine guesses the cards in a ludicrous game with Scott Adkins' Killa, leaving fans wondering how Caine knows everything.
What Happened to the Original Elder?
In Parabellum, John meets the Elder in the Moroccan desert, and the man takes his finger and wedding band as payment for giving John a way out of the mysterious High Table. This film has John returning to kill The Elder, but the new one never clarifies what happened to the former one. Before John kills him, the man just jokes his predecessor is gone, just like John's ring, leaving fans wondering if he got killed or if The Table took the original.
Why Doesn't John Wick Kill Nobody?
Early on, Nobody kills fellow assassins, telling John he'll end him once the bounty is high. John has the chance to kill Nobody right after, though, when the hunter drops his guard, puts his weapons away and jokes about John's future. It doesn't make sense that John spares him at this point because he knows Nobody's more dangerous than his other enemies. It's all done so John can show love for dogs, save Nobody's pooch and gain allies for the finale.
Why Doesn't the Public Flee Chaos?
When John beats Killa and his goons up in the villain's Berlin nightclub, the patrons don't run. Some enjoy the fights, while some are oblivious to it in a weird, inconsistent scene. They should be fleeing as all sorts of weapons are being used.
Somehow, they only run when Killa's neck is broken, despite literally dancing to tons of carnage around them prior. It gets worse at a Paris roundabout where John battles numerous hitmen, and traffic never stops. It's all done to allow John to weaponize the public environment when really everyone should be heading away from the scene.
How Do John Wick and the Dog Survive Deadly Blows?
At the Paris roundabout, a villain flings Nobody's dog headfirst into a speeding car. Somehow, though, the animal brushes it off and re-enters the field. It's another John Wick moment where logic gets thrown out the window. However, science is most questionable when it comes to John falling many stories off buildings, being thrown through walls and being rammed by cars. It's never explained how he has Wolverine-like healing abilities and why he never really gets banged up.
How Is The Marquis Allowed to Break the Rules?
Chapter 4's Marquis (Bill Skarsgård) nominates John to fight his chosen warrior in Caine at a Paris church. But he then blatantly breaks the rules of the duel, publicly sending word out for more assassins to murder John. It's never revealed why Winston doesn't address this flagrant disregard for the code and why The Table's emissary, The Harbinger, lets it happen. The point of this game is to restore honor, but The Table comes off hypocritical as it condones the very sin it's hunting John for -- ignoring the rules.
Why Doesn't The High Table Follow Winston?
The Marquis kills Lance Reddick's Charon and then has Winston deliver messages to John. Yet, The Table never physically follows Winston, knowing John always comes when he calls. They'd have easily found John at Charon's tomb and unearthed other allies, such as the Bowery King, who've eluded them for so long. It's an effective strategy that the movie ignores that could have saved time and resources with a simple trap.
Why Doesn't Koji Run From Caine?
Early in the movie, Caine battles one of his old friends in Koji at the Osaka Continental. Caine wants John's location, but he spares Koji and allows him to leave with his wounded daughter, Akira, knowing Koji won't give the secret up. Yet, Koji opts to stay and fight, dying when he could have gotten Akira to safety. This sacrifice makes no sense as Caine has already given up the chase in Japan, realizing he's destroying past friendships. It's all done to add drama and set Akira up to kill Caine.
Why Don't the Killers Keep Using Cars?
In the Paris onslaught, many assassins ram into John with their cars in separate incidents. But rather than drive over John or pin him into walls when he's immobile and vulnerable, director Chad Stahelski has the goons come out to fire or for close-range combat. It's a strange setup, crafting badass action sequences and bloody spectacles but reiterating the assassins aren't that adaptable, bright or efficient.
How Does John Wick Get Around?
Chapter 4 never details how John slips from Morocco to Japan and New York to Europe. The Table supposedly has infinite resources and people everywhere and are all into tech, but there's no surveillance footage or clues as to how he evades airport security. Admittedly, this is a problem in the entire franchise, continuing John's ability to teleport when a bit more grounded logic could have been deployed, similar to the James Bond or Bourne movies.
See all these plot holes and quaint mysteries arise in John Wick: Chapter 4, now in theaters.