Every ‘John Wick’ Film, Ranked From Good to Flat Out Amazing

It’s not very often that a film series grows better over time.

But just as its similarly-veined action counterpart Mission: Impossible manages to scale to new heights with each subsequent release, John Wick continuously finds a way to top itself with every new movie. Reigniting Keanu Reeves’ career and providing the actor with his most popular role since The Matrix, John Wick continues to serve as one of the biggest, most memorable action series of the modern era, its fame and popularity rivalling other notable genre franchises like James Bond, Fast & Furious, and Indiana Jones.

As audiences brace for the arrival of John Wick’s latest continuation — the highly anticipated spin-off, Ballerina — we decided to take a look back at each of the series’ previous installments, ranking the John Wick franchise in order from worst to best.

4. John Wick (2014)

The very first film in the John Wick continuity, it says a lot that 2014’s John Wick is considered the “worst” film in the series. A memorably explosive action epic bolstered by a star-studded cast and equally thrilling action sequences, John Wick also opens the doors to a series’ ceaselessly fascinating narrative universe. Outfitting Reeves with his single best role since The Matrix’s Neo, it also kicks off the John Wick franchise in a wholly satisfying manner, marking the first in a long line of similarly unforgettable action films.

3. John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

Capitalizing on Reeves’ comeback with 2014’s John Wick, the series promptly returned with an even more remarkable outing with its immediate sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2. Retaining the hard-boiled action of its predecessor, Chapter 2 doubles down on the foremost characteristics that make John Wick so unique in the first place: namely, the exploration of organized crime, assassination rituals, and the ironclad codes of honor between rival criminal factions. A marked improvement over the original, Chapter 2 provides viewers an unending feast for the senses, delivering a continuous lineup of increasingly pulse-pounding action sequences, one after the other.

2. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)

We don’t know how they do it, but just as Chapter 2 improves upon the original John Wick, Parabellum somehow finds a way to spell out another exciting entry in the larger John Wick series. Introducing an even bigger assortment of action set pieces alongside a similarly massive cast, Parabellum perfectly continues Baba Yaga’s escalating war with the High Table, as well as their various bands of industrious assassins and merciless hitmen hot on Wick’s trail. A phenomenal third chapter in John Wick’s ongoing story, it’s also the perfect bridge between Wick’s controversial actions in Chapter 2 and the immediate fallout he faces in Chapter 4. 

1. John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

The most recent entry in the mainline John Wick series, John Wick: Chapter 4 also marks the absolute best entry in the franchise to date. Continuing the series’ upward trajectory, Chapter 4 once again tops itself in providing Keanu Reeves an even more audacious action film – something reflected in the movie’s stacked cast, sleek direction, and expansive scope. 

While there’s a strong possibility that we’ll eventually see a sequel, if John Wick were to end here, Chapter 4 would serve as a more than judicious send-off for the series and its eponymous character – one guaranteed to live on among the greatest action films of the 21st century yet.