History Film / JohnWickChapter4

** He conditions Caine and Nobody's freedom/payment on personally killing John Wick, meaning both are motivated to undermine each other and all the other assassins that want John dead. He also keeps moving the goalposts on Nobody, stabs him in the hand to test his "loyalty", and TheDragon nearly kills Nobody's dog. Twice. [[spoiler:Nobody ultimately backs John because John saved his dog and the Marquis is a colossal, backstabbing dick. Caine, meanwhile, personally escorts John to the duel because he has just as much as stake as John does.]]

** He conditions Caine and Nobody's freedom/payment on personally killing John Wick, meaning both are motivated to undermine each other and all the other assassins that want John dead. He also keeps moving the goalposts on Nobody, stabs him in the hand to test his "loyalty", and TheDragon nearly kills Nobody's dog. Twice. [[spoiler:Nobody ultimately backs John because John saved his dog and the Marquis is a colossal, backstabbing dick.]]

* OneBulletLeft: {{Invoked|Trope}} with the final duel, where the weapons of choice are Thompson/Center Contender pistols, each being able to store and fire only one bullet before reloading, making it appropriate for the TenPacesAndTurn arrangement. [[spoiler:When Caine (acting as The Marquis' proxy) seemingly downs John for good, The Marquis takes the opportunity to deal the coup de grace himself, only for Winston to point out that John didn't even fire his gun. Cue John firing ''the actual'' bullet [[BoomHeadshot into The Marquis' head]].]]

* TenPacesAndTurn: How the duel is arranged. Unlike most examples (and incidentally, more true to real life), the "turn" part is entirely skipped; each participant takes thirty paces before turning back and facing each other, only drawing to fire when the adjudicator calls "Fire!". After each shot, each man takes ten paces closer and repeats until one of them drops dead. [[spoiler:Both John and Caine get good hits on each other's non-vital areas, but by the third shot, John gets shot in the gut and seemingly down for the count. The Marquis attempts to fire off the CoupDeGrace himself... only for John to reveal that he still has a bullet in his gun and promptly fires it into The Marquis' skull. What's better is that since the duel was technically between him and John anyway (The Marquis merely using Caine as his emissary) the Harbinger considers John's victory legitimate, honoring the pardons for him ''and'' Caine. It helps that the Harbinger wasn't exactly fond of de Gramont.]]

** [[spoiler:The Marquis pretty much had his victory in the bag by letting Caine duel in his place. Had he just let Caine duel every round, John would have lost completely. The Marquis' decision to personally execute a wounded John in the final round opens him up to being killed, giving John the win in the eyes of the High Table.]]
** The Marquis like to exert his power on his subordinates and humiliate them, making it clear that they will receive their reward only if they personally kill John Wick. This way all of his assassin work on their own and, most importantly, against each other, instead of together.

* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** During his very first scene, the Marquis makes it very clear to Winston that he doesn't believe in second chances, and that is why [[spoiler:he is punishing Winston for something he has already receive a pardon for]]. This foreshadows the revelation later in the movie that [[spoiler:he has ordered the death of the leader of the Ruska Roma for their previous assistance to John, despite the fact that they had already been punished for it and accepted back into the fold, and had nothing whatsoever to do with Wick's activities after that]].
** The negotiations between Winston and the Marquis are backdropped by several paintings by Eugene Delacroix. Their placement relative to the characters is no coincidence:
*** Throughout the entire conversation the Marquis lingers in front of ''The Death of Sardanapalus'' which depicts a Middle Eastern monarch watching disinterestedly as his subjects are murdered around him by his own guards, perfectly mirroring his arrogance, self-destructive incompetence and [[spoiler:cowardice, given his refusal to directly engage John in combat, instead nominating Caine as a substitute when challenged to a duel to the death by John]].
*** Winston in contrast wanders between ''Liberty Leading the People'' and ''The Raft of the Medusa'', symbolizing his situation as man orchestrating an insurgency against a tyrant, a struggle where not everyone will survive and [[spoiler:ultimately ends with the death of a cruel French aristocrat]]. Also, when Winston enters, de Gramont is looking at the former, and [[FiveSecondForeshadowing Winston plays on de Gramont's fears of losing his power and privileges]], much like the French aristos. Alternately/Additionally, the paintings represent the four films. To quote [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usAqRBD6PCk&lc=UgyLsw9u0-UVLYBdDeZ4AaABAg a YouTube comment]];
---->First painting is Napoleon's war against Russia (John's war against Tarasovs), then there's a shipwreck (John's house and life being destroyed by Santino, ending in excommunication), then there's the passion of Christ (John being persecuted, presumably killed and then resurrected in Chapter 3) and finally there's a painting of the French revolution (John's and Winston's rebellion against the high table in chapter 4).
*** John for his part, in a separate scene, is shown next to Caravaggio's ''The Incredulity of Saint Thomas'', symbolizing his role as everyone's savior. Furthermore, the painting depicts Jesus' stigmata, paralleling the various injuries he receives throughout the film, [[spoiler:including getting a blade put through one hand and receiving a fatal gun shot wound to the side in the finale. And if the chairman of Lionsgate's comments are anything to go by, his eventual "resurrection" in subsequent John Wick films]].
** Symbols of death hang over the cast throughout the entire movie:
*** Sakura (cherry blossoms) are used as a symbol of death in Japan in certain contexts. The Osaka Continental rife with Sakura trees & decorative motifs, indicating the slaughter about to take place, and is perhaps also [[spoiler:a hint towards viewers without meta-knowledge as to John's ultimate fate.]]
*** [[spoiler:Shimazu's fatal duel with Caine]] at the back exit of the Osaka Continental takes place in the shadow of a funerary bell.
*** When playing Five-Card Draw with Killa, Tracker and Caine, [[spoiler:each of the players' hands foreshadows their fate; John's hand is two black Aces and two black Eights, a "Dead Man's Hand". Caine draws a better hand of [[FourIsDeath four Nines and one Four]], which brings him a UncertainDoom in TheStinger after John's death, and the Tracker, who survives the whole film without someone gunning for him, gets a Royal Flush. Killa's hand is the highest rank, "Five of a Kind", but is the lowest possible value and was dealt via cheating; he is the first to die as he broke his own game's rules.]]
*** The discussion of epitaphs between John, Winston and the Bowery King suggests that at least one of them will soon need one.
*** John has important conversations with Akira on an underground train that notably passes through a darkened section, and later the Bowery King and Winston while riding a boat through an underground river, hinting that the occupants are on an AfterlifeExpress.
** When Winston and the Bowery King discuss why the Marquis spared the former when he destroyed the New York Continental [[spoiler:and personally executed Charon,]] Winston suggests that he wanted to set an example, as killing Winston would have turned him into a martyr for defying the High Table. [[spoiler:John eventually accomplishes this when he dies in a way that takes the Marquis down with him in the final duel.]]

* BlindWeaponmaster: Caine is a blind swordsman who is also surprisingly accurate with a gun (doubling as an ActorAllusion to Creator/DonnieYen's role as Chirrut Imwe in ''Film/RogueOne''). [[spoiler:He's almost as good a shot as John himself, grazing John only ''slightly'' less than John's shots graze him during the first two rounds of the final duel. Granted, WorfHadTheFlu is in effect, as John has to shoot with his off hand during the final duel because Caine had stabbed him through his right hand on their way to the Sacre-Cœur moments earlier.]]

** The Bowery King opens the film quoting Dante's Inferno. The previous film also had Ernest quote Dante's Inferno in the film's first action scene.

** During his very first scene, the Marquis makes it very clear to Winston that he doesn’t believe in second chances, and that is why [[spoiler:he is punishing Winston for something he has already receive a pardon for]]. This foreshadows the revelation later in the movie that [[spoiler:he has ordered the death of the leader of the Ruska Roma for their previous assistance to John, despite the fact that they had already been punished for it and accepted back into the fold, and had nothing whatsoever to do with Wick's activities after that]].

*** Winston in contrast wanders between ''Liberty Leading the People'' and ''The Raft of the Medusa'', symbolizing his situation as man orchestrating an insurgency against a tyrant, a struggle where not everyone will survive and [[spoiler:ultimately ends with the death of a cruel French aristocrat]]. Also, when Winston enters, de Gramont is looking at the former, and [[FiveSecondForeshadowing Winston plays on de Gramont's fears of losing his power and privileges]], much like the French aristos. Alternately/Additionally, the paintings represent the four films. To quote [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usAqRBD6PCk&lc=UgyLsw9u0-UVLYBdDeZ4AaABAg a Youtube comment]];

*** When playing Five-Card Draw with Killa, Tracker and Caine, [[spoiler: each of the players' hands foreshadows their fate; John's hand is two black Aces and two black Eights, a "Dead Man's Hand". Caine draws a better hand of [[FourIsDeath four Nines and one Four]], which brings him a UncertainDoom in TheStinger after John's death, and the Tracker, who survives the whole film without someone gunning for him, gets a Royal Flush. Killa's hand is the highest rank, "Five of a Kind", but is the lowest possible value and was dealt via cheating; he is the first to die as he broke his own game's rules.]]

* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: To make Nobody prove his devotion to the Marquis's cause, he stabs Nobody in the hand and pins it to a table. He then presents him with a choice: [[MortonsFork pull the knife out of his hand or pull his hand out of the knife.]] As the Marquis reasons, [[InsaneTrollLogic the former will prove Nobody is selfish and unreliable, while the latter will prove his loyalty]].

* MeaningfulName: Caine, referencing both Cain, befitting his role of first assassin for the High Table and the fact that he has been tasked with killing his brother [[spoiler: which he succeeds in doing, both with Koji and, depending on your interpretation of the ending, John Wick himself]] and the walking aid he needs, being blind (which also happens to hold his sword).

** Katia is murderously angry at John because the Marquis had Pyotr killed for aiding him. [[spoiler:Once she learns John has a plan to kill the Marquis in a duel, sponsored by her family, she decides to back him to have revenge on the Marquis. As a bonus, she has John murder the Marquis's ally Killa too.]]

** Killa's characterization evokes the depiction of Le Chiffre in the novel version of ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'', who (unlike how the movie adaptation depicted the character as slim and suave) is an overweight gambler who uses an inhaler. Also fitting the Bond homage, Killa's bigotry towards John for being a Cossack brings to mind ''Film/GoldenEye'' and Zukovsky's similar attitude towards Trevelyan. In addition, Killa's VillainousGoldTooth might be a reference to {{Film/Avengement}} also starring Scott Adkins, whose character also sports a metallic grill.

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Main/{{Tagline}} No way back.]] [[GrandFinale One way out.]]''[[note]][[BrickJoke Also]], [[SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou John Wick is]] [[SubvertedTrope holding nunchucks]].[[/note]]]]

* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: The mothers of Caine and Koji’s daughters are never seen or mentioned.

** [[spoiler: Winston's closest friends, Charon and John Wick, are dead, but he manages to get justice for Charon and the New York Continental via the Marquis' death, and the High Table holds up their end of the agreement to repair the Continental on their dime. That said, the fact that John and Charon are both dead does mean Winston's strongest supporters are gone, leaving his position more shaky and vulnerable than it has ever been, now that he has neither John's great skills to back him up or Charon's undying loyalty and capable intelligence to hold the New York Continental as securely as he used to be, effectively meaning Winston will now have to obey the High Table more with his main cards that allowed him to challenge the High Table's rules as much as he did and leaving the High Table with a presence in New York stronger than ever.]]
** [[spoiler: Caine wins the duel and secures his daughter's safety from the Marquis, but along the way he killed two of his closest friends, and TheStinger shows that he is now being targeted by a vengeful Akira for the death of her father, setting up what is surely to be a bloody feud.]]

** Wanna know why the movie ends with so many fans insist John's [[spoiler: not really dead]]? Because he had three gunshot wounds at the end. One a graze on the arm, the other two in the lower left abdomen and the upper right shoulder, where the doctor previously asked to be shot in the third film because they wouldn't be fatal]].

** In the first film, John's video of his wife Helen ends with her saying "Come on, John, let's go home" (and at the very end of the film, hearing those words is what gives him the strength to carry on). [[spoiler: Wick's final request to Winston before collapsing is to "take him home".]]

* DesignatedGirlFight: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed.]] One of the few female {{Mooks}} in the movie is dispatched by Akira in the Osaka fight, but the rest of her kills are men.

* FloralMotifs: {{Cherry blossoms}}. Other than the movie being released in the springtime, the "Foreshadowing" entry implies that their presence [[spoiler: foreshadows John's death at the end, particularly being combined with the FourMeansDeath trope]], as the meaning here might be "ephemerality". On another note, they might be connected with the samurai, considering the name "Shimazu".

-->'''Koji:''' [[AFriendInNeed Friendship means little when it's convenient]].

* ILetYouWin: [[spoiler: Implied. Near the end of their duel, Caine is at the disadvantage more or less in terms of injuries ensuring John will either kill his old friend or at least secure a MutualKill. Instead John TakeAThirdOption and refuses to fire allowing Caine to land a fatal blow to his stomach. This seems to be his plan as he was saving his shot for The Marquis allowing John to have his vengeance and freedom while Caine and his family remain safe from the High Table. John practically confirms this by telling Caine "You owe me one", a statement Caine agrees with]].

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: After [[spoiler: the deconsecration of the Osaka Continental, the death of Koji along with a lot of his people]], and talking to Winston, John stops pretending there was ever a chance he could actually win his war with the Table. John has terrified them enough that they are finally willing to use all their seemingly limitless resources to kill him, and even John can't defeat a literal army on his own. So he takes Winston's suggestion to pursue a one-on-one duel with the Marquis so that, win or loss, live or die, things will finally be put to an end

---> '''Winston:''' He is to be our judge, jury, and...

** [[spoiler:John falling down ''all'' the stairs just before reaching the Sacre-Cœur, including rolling over flat ground onto the next flight of steps. Once he comes to a stop, he gets kicked down the rest of the stairs.]]

* RedHerring: The Marquis has a bladed weapons motif, from the fencers at his estate to using a knife against Mr. Nobody. When he requests blades for his duel with John, it suggests a hidden combat skill, but [[spoiler: he was clearly planning on having MasterSwordsman Caine fight in his place no matter what.]]

** With the reputation of the High Table and his life on the line the Marquis de Gramont decides to increase the bounty on John to such a high amount it drags every killer in Paris into the mix, with three possible outcomes that benfit him. 1) Someone simply gets lucky and finally kills John Wick. 2) They stall him long enough he misses the deadline and will be executed for failing to appear. 3) If neither of the previous things happen then John will be mentaly and physically drained from all the fighting that Caine, even blind, is still an even match for John, will have a huge advantage during the duel. [[spoiler: Option 2 would have happened had Caine not decided to go aid John so he could reach the duel and have a fighting chance of winning.]]

** Wanna know why the movie ends with so many fans insist John's [[spoiler:[[HesJustHiding not really dead]]? Because he had three gunshot wounds at the end. One a graze on the arm, the other two in the lower left abdomen and the upper right shoulder, where the doc previously asked to be shot because they wouldn't be fatal]].

* MeaningfulName: Caine, referencing both Cain, befitting his role of first assassin for the High Table and the fact that he has been tasked with killing his brother [[spoiler: which he succeeds in doing, both with Kouji and, depending on your interpretation of the ending, John Wick himself]] and the walking aid he needs, being blind (which also happens to hold his sword).

** Unlike the rest of the elite bodyguards and assassasins who are after John because of duty, honor, or a challenge; Nobody simply wants to collect the bounty to retire from the game completely.

* CoolGuns:
** Nobody uses a revolver as a sidearm, and a tactical takedown lever action as his primary, to fit his cowboy motif. [[spoiler:He also has a plain ol' Glock as backup.]]
** If you pay close attention during the third act, some of the mooks have tactical, modernized, Thompson [=SMGs=].
** The penultimate showdown brings in mooks wielding automatic magazine-fed Gen-12 shotguns loaded with [[KillItWithFire Dragon's breath incendiary rounds]], of which John is quick to procure one of his own and lay waste to the rest of the mooks with their own firepower.

** Deconstructed. John's go-to solution is to kill the people menacing him, but as Winston points out, the High Table has more men than John has bullets. No matter how many people he kills, more will come after him, and their leadership can be replaced as fast as he could possibly kill them, the Marquis included. Winston instead directs John to invoke a High Table duel with the Marquis to get the bounty taken off his head for good.

** In a recent interview, Killa was conjectured by Scott Adkins to be one big homage to ''Film/ShaPoLang''. His look evokes Sammo Hung's character, triad boss Wong Po, down to the acrofatic fighting style, four-piece burgundy suit and choice of a night club as a lair while [[spoiler:his death mirrors that of Ma Kwun, Donnie Yen's character, who falls several stories after engaging in a brutal no-holds barred brawl with the former]].

* AntiVillain: Caine is a professional hitman [[spoiler:and the one who eventually kills John]] but holds to a code of honour and clearly loves his daughter very much. He also very much ''doesn't'' want to kill John Wick, who's one of his oldest friends, as well as Shimazu, a mutual friend of both who ends up being targeted simply for harboring John Wick in his hotel. The only reason he agrees to the job is because the Marquis threatens his daughter's life.

* HilarityEnsues:
** John gets kicked down a long flight of stairs ''twice''.
** There's also Caine, who happens to be eating while everyone else is killing each other in Osaka. It isn't till one of the assassins asks Caine for help that he gets up and stars kicking ass.
** The Maquis attempts to [[spoiler:execute John during the duel between John and Caine, however John didn't shoot, so he actually has one bullet left, leading to Winston calling the Marquis out on it and getting a hilarious look on his face before.. John shoots him in the face.]]
** Killa gets shot in his ass by John.
** And Chidi gets a GroinAttack by Nuts.
** Parisians just ignore the obvious shootouts taking place, with some even running over the assassins.

* HonourBeforeReason: One of the central themes of the film is the conflict between those who value Honour versus those who value Reason (or more specifically, rules and consequences). The High Table would very much prefer the assassin underworld run solely by its rules, with the various members concerned only for self-preservation rather than willing to risk their lives to subvert its authority. John Wick on the other hand, relies entirely on the goodwill and bonds of brotherhood he has built up throughout his long career to succeed.
** In the clearest example of this, Koji [[spoiler:harbours John in his Continental]] despite the clear understanding that it will bring the wrath of the High Table down upon him, and even after [[spoiler:the Marquis makes an example of Winston]] never wavers in his support for John. He even straight up [[spoiler:attacks the representatives of the Marquis]] without hesitation.
-->'''Koji:''' Friendship means little when it’s convenient.
** Caine on the other hand represents the Reason part of the argument, as pointed out by many other characters on the Honour side. [[spoiler:He ultimately follows through with the task given to him]] but nevertheless makes every effort possible to delay and find a way out.

** Ultimately it is revealed that even the High Table has a somewhat of a split regarding this debate. As the Marquis mentions to Winston, [[spoiler:various newer voices are beginning to propose doing away with the old ways]] and he fully embraces this doctrine with his ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem attitude to dealing with every situation. The Harbinger represents the more conservative honour-bound side of the High Table, advising minimal disruption to the complex underground society they reside in and becoming increasingly irritated by the Marquis' heavy-handed approach.

* IdiotBall: [[spoiler:Not closely paying attention to who fired during the duel's third round, and assuming John is defenseless, proves to be his undoing.]]

* {{Kevlard}}: The two Sumo wrestler bodyguards of Koji can be seen shrugging off bullets with their arms protecting their face and their stomachs taking all the lead. Getting shot in the gut seemingly doesn’t effect them much and surely doesn’t stop them from smacking the hell out of the High Table goons.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: After [[spoiler: the deconsecration of the Osaka Continental, the death of Koji along with a lot of his people]], and talking to Winston, John stops pretending there was ever a chance he could actually win his war with the Table. John has terrified them enough that they are finally willing to use all their seemingly limitless resources to kill him, and even John can't defeat a literal army on his own. So he takes Winston’s suggestion to pursue a one-on-one duel with the Marquis so that, win or loss, live or die, things will finally be put to an end

* LiteralMetaphor: In the third act, [[spoiler:John faces a literal ''and'' figurative uphill battle.]]

** Know why so many fans insist John's [[spoiler:[[HesJustHiding not really dead]]? Because he had three gunshot wounds at the end. One a graze on the arm, the other two in the lower left abdomen and the upper right shoulder, where the doc previously asked to be shot because they wouldn't be fatal]].

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Nobody can't help but laugh when John uses a playing card to slice upen Killa's neck and half-blind one of his mooks.

* AbsurdlyLongStairway: John has to fight his way up the Rue Foyatier, one of the longest outdoor staircases in Paris. Then he gets kicked down it and has to do it again.