As you might have heard, in this final installment of the franchise, the John Wick 4 creative team really and truly goes for it. And they go for it to such an extent that you’re brought right back to the dire act that ignited the whole vengeful spree — the killing of Wick’s puppy all those years ago. It’s no longer a spoiler to say what’s being widely reported, though you might still consider this a SPOILER, that the shocking murder that occurs early in John Wick 4, the one that’s guaranteed make you gasp with a similar sense of outrage, is the sudden, brutal killing of Charon, the character played by the late, lamented actor Lance Reddick.

Which makes it the perfect setup for the final cathartic paroxysm of violence to come.

Audiences are flocking to see it, of course, as this appears to be the last of John Wick, at least as embodied by beloved actor Keanu Reeves. For years now John Wick’s been there to supply us, at reliable intervals, with those experiences we’re denied in our lives — respect, rough justice, a heightened and meaningful way to conduct ourselves in a bloody, ghastly world, and most of all, exquisitely violent revenge on all the nightmarish power players who won’t just let us live quietly with our dog.