As we have seen over the course of three films, Keanu Reeves’ John Wick has many friends, but by the end of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, one of his most powerful allies seems to betray him. Threatened by Asian referee Kate Dillon to have The Continental removed, Ian McShane’s Winston makes the decision to personally attempt to execute the film’s main hero. Luckily, John survives the assassination attempt and his story continues John Wick: Chapter 4but a question arises: did Winston know that his friend would survive or was he acting solely out of self-interest?
Curious about this, I took the query to the source. Last weekend I had the opportunity to interview Ian McShane and Lance Riddick at John Wick: Chapter 4 press day in Los Angeles, and my first question was about the end of the parabellum. Doing little to hide his retrospective bias, McShane said:
Well, I’ll just say I obviously knew he was wearing a flak jacket. Winston is an expert marksman and he knew he would survive, bounce off a car, go down 55 floors and somehow survive being treated by the Bowery King. There was, there was no personal interest.
Ian McShane, of course, is alluding to the fact that Winton’s attempt to kill John Wick isn’t just about firing a single shot at the legendary killer’s head. Instead, the Continental’s manager fires five shots at John, knocking him over the edge of the hotel’s roof. He hits a sloping roof, an emergency exit and an awning before hitting the concrete below… but it’s clear that Winston knew from the start that John could survive.
If you’re feeling a little skeptical about this idea, you’re not alone. Lance Riddick, who plays Charon, Winston’s trusted caretaker, doesn’t seem to quite accept this perspective on events:
Lance Riddick: It was the bounce during the descent and landing that I had to question, but…
Ian McShane: Well, we’re watching together, man.
If Winston is guilty of actively trying to kill John Wick, Charon’s hands aren’t quite clean. After the big crash, he has only three words for his boss: “Well done, sir.”
During the interview, I noticed Charon’s acceptance of the topicality, and Lance Riddick explained that internally the character is shocked by what happened, but also knows that you can’t not break an egg. In his words:
When you say accept, I mean it’s done. He can’t do anything about it. And this is Winston, you know, I’m his friend. But at that point, I was like, ‘Shit…really? Shit.’… That’s what I thought as a character.
As for the consequences of the situation … we just have to wait a few weeks to find out. With an all-star cast including Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Riddick, Laurence Fishburne, Rina Sawayama, Donnie Yen, Shamier Anderson, Bill Skarsgård and Scott Adkins, John Wick: Chapter 4 It will hit theaters on June 24. The nearly three-hour epic has garnered positive reactions since the first screenings, so don’t hesitate to start promoting now.
For all the movies hitting theaters and streaming in the coming weeks and months, head over to our 2023 movie release schedule.
Source: Cinemablend
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