John Wick: Chapter 4 has finally landed in theaters, and by all accounts, it’s the best yet; with the usual, deadly song and dance of Baba Yaga’s plights cranked up to unprecedented levels and a whole new cast of assassins on either side of him, there’s much to love about the title hero’s latest excursion.
It’s all for the better as well, because Chapter 4 also boasts a runtime that warrants the coziest seats possible. At two hours and 49 minutes, the fourth installment beats out its closest franchise competitor, Chapter 3 – Parabellum, by nearly 40 minutes.
Suffice to say, some may find staying tuned in to be quite the uphill battle, as some critics have made a note of in the few less-than-favorable reviews that have come out lately. Director Chad Stahelski has no time for such detractions; in an interview with DiscussingFilm, the director channeled his inner James Cameron to point out that people will complain about long movie runtimes only to watch hours upon hours of non-stop television that same weekend.
“These are the same people that will go and binge a whole season of television on a Sunday afternoon. I think myself and again, you have [Christopher] Nolan and [James] Cameron, like come on, really? Everybody goes out and watches three seasons of TV on a Sunday, or they will watch whole five episodes of Game of Thrones at night. And because you’re on your couch that makes it different?”
To be fair, being home on one’s couch does make a world of difference, since you can pause the film, refill snacks or drinks if you get thirsty, crawl under a blanket if you’re cold, take a bathroom break without missing anything, among a plethora of other conveniences. Nevertheless, Stahelski’s point still stands; if you can watch five hours of Game of Thrones, you can watch three hours of John Wick.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is now playing in theaters.
