John Wick 4also known as John Wick Chapter 4: Baba Yaga, has just been released in movie theaters around the world, including some Latin American territories, and we have had the opportunity to see this extraordinary adventure.
For a blog like FayerWayer It might seem that a film of this type does not have much to do beyond the character’s tendency to position himself as Trending Topic global every time he comes back on stage.
But the reality is that in this fourth film we come across, to our surprise, a brutal amount of winks, tributes, and allusions to different elements of pop culture that we usually address on the site.
John Wick 4, unexpectedly, is full of tributes to sagas that don’t seem to have a firm relationship with each other, as is the franchise of Star Wars, Cowboy Bebop anime, Hotline Miami games, Metal Slug and even Frogger.
But the film starring Keanu Reeves has managed to pay tribute to all of the above in as extreme a mix as the idea itself suggests.
John Wick 4 is a triumph with nods to video games, anime and other movies
From the third installment, the intention of the filmmakers to pay homage to other films from the golden age of action cinema at the end of the 20th century was obvious.
It is there where we begin to see the character played by Keanu Reeves flirting with Western classics, action thrillers and even ninja and martial arts tapes.
For the fourth installment it was no exception and the tribute expanded to other cult films such as The Warriors, Unforgiven and even Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
But what caught our attention the most was his tribute to three things in particular. Read at the risk of running into indirect spoilers.
There Is A Star Wars Tribute In John Wick 4
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Donnie Yen’s character of Caine is one of the great additions to the cast of John Wick 4, and his role as the blind assassin references another of his famous roles.
The martial arts star, if you remember correctly, previously starred in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as Chirrut Îmwe.
Who was also in essence a blind mercenary with high fighting skills, armed with a staff and without the sense of sight.
Many video games receive their tribute
In perhaps the most brutal scene in the entire film, out of nowhere comes a simultaneous tribute to two video games that every hardcore John Wick fan surely knows: Hotline Miami and Metal Slug.
With a sequence in full top view we see how the character massacres all the enemies of an abandoned building while going through all the corners in the purest style of the video game.
The curious thing here is that he does it with a shotgun that fires shots, which reminds us of the visual effect of the shotgun in Metal Slug.
In fact, a Hotline Miami Mod inspired by John Wick has been circulating among the gamer community for five years. Here it seems that the cycle is closed.
But that’s not all, the plot itself has a narrative similar to that of a video game, with multiple boss fights involved and a sequence at the Arc de Triomphe in France that pays homage to Frogger.
Homage to Cowboy Bebop
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On this detail we prefer not to delve discreetly with the history of both sagas. But those who have seen the anime will understand that there is a very emotional homage to Cowboy Bebop.
In summary, John Wick 4 is an unexpected, highly worthy and above all spectacular swan song that opens uncertain horizons for the franchise.
