Martial arts legend Donnie Yen is one of many action movie stars in John Wick: Chapter 4, and he lovel filming the sequel. The Ip Man actor reckons it’s the most fun American thriller movie he’s made.
In an interview with Collider, Yen spoke about his admiration for director Chad Stahelski, and series lead Keanu Reeves. “Keanu’s got a good soul, a good man. Chad is also a very good man, very knowledgeable,” Yen says. “People think of him as a brilliant action guy, he’s not (just that), he understands films. He’s a film librarian, he knows what’s going on. I’m having the best time working with them in this movie, (more) than any of my previous Hollywood movies, so I wanted to express my appreciation.”
Yen was particularly taken by Reeves’ dedication to the craft of filmmaking, training and doing many of his own stunts and such. “He’s the guy, he does everything himself,” Yen explains. “He puts in the hours, he puts in the work, and he can do it. He’s no joke. I have that respect for him, and he’s just a cool guy to be around and to work with.”
From Hong Kong, Yen has had a long career in action cinema, with martial arts films like Iron Monkey and Dragon, and period pieces such as 14 Blades and An Empress and the Warriors. He began drawing a larger English-speaking audience due to the Ip Man series, which started in 2008, and has since found himself with parts in Star Wars, xXx, and now John Wick.
In other words, the man knows what he’s talking about when it comes to producing thrilling films, and his blessing makes the next John Wick all the more enticing.