John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski has revealed the video game inspiration for a major action scene in the new film. John Wick: Chapter 4 is the latest and, to some, greatest installment of one of the most successful action franchises in quite some time. The stunts are incredible and almost unfathomable at times, but it’s all because there’s a great deal of preparation and care poured into the action sequences around the film. Every sequence is upping the ante, adding new layers to keep things fresh, and trying to find new ways to make sure it’s something you haven’t seen before.
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One of the ways this is done in John Wick: Chapter 4 is through a top-down, one-shot action sequence where John Wick is using a shotgun with dragon’s breath rounds and clearing rooms of guys. It’s pretty impressive to watch and it seems like a logistical nightmare, but many fans pointed out that it seemed like it was an obvious reference to Hotline Miami. Believe it or not, director Chad Stahelski cited a totally different game when speaking to Slash Film, a lesser known title know as Hong Kong Massacre.
“If you’re ever lacking creativity, handcuff yourself and then figure it out, because then you’ll do something you haven’t done before,” said Stahelski. “So top shots were never very cool with us, with lighting or choreography, because it gets old quick. But I had seen this video game and I’ll throw a shout-out – I think it was called “Hong Kong Massacre” – they did this top shot and we had been doing so much with the big muzzle flashes and it just kind of clicked like, “Well, if I’m above, we shoot like this and we shoot like this, and it draws these cool lines with the muzzle flash, and if I get the right flicker effect, it’s like Etch A Sketch. It looks really cool.” And it was a different way to amp up the action and keep you in that video game mode that John Wick’s kind of known for, that first-person shooter kind of thing.”
Chad Stahelski knows a thing or two about bringing video games to life as he’s currently attached to direct Ghost of Tsushima and Rainbow Six. As of right now, we have no idea when either film will release, but it sounds like he’s knee-deep into prep on Ghost of Tsushima. Either way, it’s awesome to see such a talented action director pulling from indie games and amplifying it all in such a successful way.
What did you think of John Wick: Chapter 4? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
