What is the greatest action film of the 21st century? Mad Max: Fury Road, Skyfall, The Raid, The Dark Knight, and Mission Impossible: Fallout all have compelling cases. However, compiling the best action films of the last 25 years and not mentioning John Wick is a crime. Arguments could be made for all the John Wick movies; that’s how strong they are in the action genre.
John Wick started with a simple premise. Former hitman John Wick (The Matrix’s Keanu Reeves, who is no stranger to action) comes out of retirement after the son of a Russian mobster kills his dog: a gift from his now-deceased wife. Hell-bent on revenge, Wick hunts down the son with reckless abandon, killing every single person who stands in his way.
John Wick was a sleeper hit in 2014, and nine years later, it has evolved into a global franchise featuring three sequels and a spinoff film about assassin Eve, played by Ana de Armas. Though it seemed like John Wick: Chapter 4 ended the protagonist’s journey on a high note, his story will continue in John Wick: Chapter 5. Before the franchise returns to theaters, catch up on these John Wick movies.
Right now, the first three John Wick movies are available to stream on The Roku Channel.
Nothing! The Roku Channel is free. However, you still have to watch the occasional ad block, making it very similar to watching broadcast television. It’s worth it, though, for these John Wick movies are some of the best action movies ever made.
Unfortunately, Chapter 4 and Ballerina are not currently streaming for free on The Roku Channel or any other platform. However, Digital Trends will keep you updated on the next big deal on these spectacular action films.
Any action movie fan will love the John Wick franchise. Each subsequent film raises the bar with its action sequences and stunt coordination. The highly choreographed fight scenes are some of the best in the 21st century. In addition, the films are easy to understand and offer audiences a true form of escapism.
Chad Stahelski is the director behind the four main movies in the franchise. Stahelski famously worked as Reeves’s stunt double on The Matrix. Ballerina was directed by Len Wiseman, who worked on all five films in the Underworld franchise. However, Stahelski’s fingerprints are visible throughout the film with its many dazzling and intricate action scenes that have become part of the John Wick brand.
Across five movies, including Ballerina, the John Wick franchise holds an average rating of 87% on the Tomatometer and an audience score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, the four films combine for a Metascore of 71 and a user score of 7.6.
For John Wick fans, read John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending explained, John Wick: Chapter 4’s best scene, 5 reasons why John Wick is the best action movie ever, and does John Wick die at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4?
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.