John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski has defended the film’s large runtime, saying that it’s “what we feel is a good movie”.
The fourth film in the Keanu Reeves-starring franchise hits UK cinemas next week (March 24), debuting around the US three days later.
After the film was confirmed to have a huge runtime of 169 minutes, some have questioned the length of the film.
Talking to Digital Spy, Stahelski defended the decision, saying: “If that’s the critique, we’ll take it.
“I don’t think we’ve ever concerned ourselves, we just watch the movie,” he added. “I think it’s the length that we feel is the best version of the movie.
“We’ve tried longer, we’ve tried much shorter. That’s what we feel is a good movie.”
The new film has gained rave reviews ahead of its release, already being called “phenomenal”, “epic”, and “one of the greatest action movies ever made”.
Erick Weber went as far as to call Chapter 4 “one of the greatest action movies ever made” in a review shared to Twitter, writing that the sequel “tops all 3 of its predecessors in storytelling, scope & stakes, countless astonishing set pieces.”
This week, it was revealed that the John Wick series will be put on a “rest” after Chapter 4 makes its way onto movie screens.
The franchise’s director Stahelski has said that both he and Keanu Reeves are “done for the moment” with the films. Telling The Hollywood Reporter that the character needs to be left alone for a while, adding that it has created a backlog of work for him.
Asked if there was the possibility of a fifth instalment in the works, Stahleski replied: “In our minds, Keanu and I are done for the moment. We’re going to give John Wick a rest. I’m sure the studio has a plan. If everyone loves it and it goes kooky, then we’ll take a quiet minute.
‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ will hit UK cinemas on March 24, while it will debut in theatres around the US from March 27.