In addition to cementing its credentials as one of the modern era’s greatest franchises four times over, John Wick has also accomplished an even more remarkable feat after having its critical acclaim improve with each subsequent installment.
The original remains the lowest-rated of the bunch on Rotten Tomatoes with a still-stellar 86 percent approval rating, and that went up to 89 for the second and third chapters, before reaching a new high of 94 percent this summer when the fourth entry landed, which additionally pushed the Keanu Reeves-fronted saga past the cumulative billion-dollar mark at the box office.
All good things must come to an end, though, and in what’s hopefully not a worrying sign of things to follow, it happened with the first project that doesn’t feature its leading man or director Chad Stahelski behind the camera. The Continental has been greeted tepidly to say the least, with Mel Gibson hardly helping matters given his polarizing presence, and it only holds a 49 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing.
However, that doesn’t mean the John Wick brand isn’t strong enough to draw audiences in regardless, with the three-part prequel series having debuted as one of the biggest hits on streaming. Available on Prime Video in countries where Peacock doesn’t have a foothold in the market, the show has rocketed straight to number one in 23 countries around the world and breached the Top 10 in almost 100 more, per FlixPatrol.
As if you needed any more reminders, John Wick as a brand is every bit as bulletproof as its hero is as a character.