Keanu Reeves’ character in John Wick: Chapter 4 reportedly had very few lines, as the actor’s actions speak louder than words.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Reeves’ character, Wick, spoke very little throughout the film, suggesting that the actor had little to say but much more to do. The fourth installment of the John Wick franchise had a run time of 169 minutes, with Reeves delivering only 380 words in total, directed by Chad Stahelski.
Nearly a third of Wick’s dialogue consisted of just one word, such as “Yeah”. By comparison, in the first film, Reeves spoke a total of 484 words in a 101-minute run time.
With a run time of 169 minutes, the fourth movie pushes three hours, but only features 380 words by Wick. Approximately 10% of those words are featured in the movie’s trailer, making the hero appear quite chatty. In reality, Wick says more in that 2.5-minute clip than he does in the first 25 minutes of the film itself.
The director of the film revealed that Wick’s dialogue was limited because “Mr. Reeves stripped out roughly half the dialogue written for his character in the initial script.”
The longest sentence that Reeves delivers is in a scene with co-star Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Shimazu Koji, where Wick says, “You and I left a good life behind a long time ago, my friend.”
Despite the lack of dialogue, the audiences have responded positively to John Wick: Chapter 4 at the box office. The film opened to a franchise record of $73.5 million, with a global debut of $137.5 million. It appears that the moviegoers were more interested in Reeves’ actions and the film’s stunning visuals than his words.