When’s the last time the fourth film in a series was also its best?

Such is the case for John Wick: Chapter 4, in which the beautiful chaos surrounding Keanu Reeves’ eponymous hitman is cranked to new heights as if it’s the last of these films director Chad Stahelski and his cast and crew will make.

With John once more on the run for his righteous “sins” against the all-powerful worldwide group known as The High Table, the newly appointed Marquis (Bill Skarsgård, deliciously sinister yet again) is granted complete authority to use his masters’ resources to eliminate the offending party. John’s few remaining allies at the Continental assassin hotels are naturally called upon first, which takes us from Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick) in New York City to Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada, Bullet Train) in Osaka, the first tastes of the imagery-rich saga’s best use of cityscapes and urban scenery.

While it’s tough seeing Reddick on film so soon after his untimely death, the fate of his beloved character is likewise difficult to stomach, but it sets the tone that no one is safe in Chapter 4 and that the stakes are higher than ever — as does the influx of new exciting and dangerous players.

After Rogue One, it’s clear that Donnie Yen playing a blind character equates to cinematic bliss, so naturally his gifted killer Caine is bereft of sight yet also the only one who can truly rival John’s skills, if not eclipse them. Even more so than in the Star Wars prequel, it’s a joy watching the martial arts master work on this grand a level, and Stahelski and his screenwriting team of Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum) and Michael Finch (Predators) give the actor numerous opportunities to showcase his skills to ridiculously entertaining ends.

The mysterious tracker Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson, Destroyer) and his vicious canine companion are likewise welcome additions; Lawrence Fishburne’s bombastic Bowery King returns for multiple humorous appearances to help his pal; and Chapter 4 loops in arguably these films’ most cartoonish villain yet in Killa (Scott Adkins, Day Shift), a Juggernaut-like German gangster with goofy gold teeth and a silly laugh that punctuates everything he says.

But these are Reeves’ films, and the way he carries himself throughout Chapter 4 solidifies John Wick as a truly iconic action hero. Constantly on the run and hounded by The Table’s men as well as freelancers looking to collect on the ever-rising bounty, John inflicts death after inventive death, blocking bullets with his kevlar jacket while using whatever gun, sword, knife, and nunchaku he can get his hands on. Reeves has never looked cooler — and, if you’ve been following his career, you know that’s really saying something.

Recognizing the potential finality of it all, Stahelski elevates his game with the series’ most impressive stunt work and action sequences thus far. From John’s elaborate escape from the Osaka Continental to his showdown with Killa in a Berlin disco while revelers obliviously dance while carnage ensues around them, the director continues to challenge himself and his collaborators, building to an elaborate two-part Parisian climax involving such visceral, visual delights as a shootout from a 360-degree car spin, an extended overhead shot, and a daunting trip up flights of stairs.

Numerous surprises and thrills await along the way, resulting in one of the zippiest three (rounding up) hours in film history. If it’s indeed the end for these characters, it’s a fitting way to go out — but so many narrative strands remain unresolved among these richly drawn characters that it would be a shame to fully call it quits.

Grade: A-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Lionsgate)