Summary

• "Friendship means little when it's convenient": Koji's powerful line shows the deep bond between him and John, despite the inconvenience caused by John's actions.
• "A man has to look his best when it's time to get married... or buried": The Bowery King's line highlights the contrast between the normalcy of weddings and the dangerous situations in John Wick 4, emphasizing the film's unique universe.
• "Fools talk. Cowards are silent. But wise men listen": Koji's subtle threat showcases his wisdom and defiance against the High Table, contrasting with their authoritative talk and positioning them as fools.

John Wick: Chapter 4's association with explosive, over-the-top action does not nullify the handful of fantastic quotes found in the final entry to the series. Since his debut in 2014, Keanu Reeves' John Wick is the closest thing to a mainstream, silent protagonist that Hollywood has produced in the last decade. Wick is not known for his words but instead for his actions, something that is also attributed to the John Wick franchise as a whole.

However, while the franchise is predominantly ed for how it almost single-handedly reinvented action filmmaking in Hollywood, it also features many memorial quotes. From the iconic lines about Baba Yaga and John Wick's pencil murders in the first movie to the exuberant lines of the Bowery King, the John Wick: Chapter 4's ending.

10 "Friendship Means Little When It's Convenient"

This line is spoken in John Wick: Chapter 4's first act by Hiroyuki Sanada's Koji Shimazu. After John realizes he is bringing the vengeance of the High Table down on Koji's Continental in Osaka, he apologizes to his friend for the trouble he has caused. Koji replies with "Friendship means little when it's convenient" in a simple yet powerful demonstration of the friendship between the two. Koji proves his friendship with John runs deep with this line as the siege of the High Table on the Osaka Continental is anything but convenient to Koji, yet he will help John nonetheless as a sign of their bond.

9 "How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything"

The first line spoken by John Wick 4's villain, the Marquis de Gramont, is "How you do anything is how you do everything." The Marquis explains that this is something his father used to say is the first and last rule of life by which he now abides. Given that the scene then depicts the Marquis mercilessly killing Charon, blowing up the New York Continental, and declaring Winston Excommunicado, the quote becomes extra powerful as it proves that the Marquis' brutality is something he deploys in every aspect of his life. This sets up his villainy to perfection, making him an easy-to-root-against foil for John Wick.

8 "A Man Has To Look His Best When It's Time To Get Married... Or Buried."

John Wick: Chapter 4 opens with John being aided by the Bowery King before he emerges to take down the High Table. This comes full circle when the Bowery King provides John with a suit for the film's climactic third act, accompanied by the line "A man has to look his best when it's time to get married... or buried." The scene perfectly encapsulates the mythology of John Wick's universe with the idea of a suit being armor, highlighting the contrast between the wearing of one in real life on happy occasions like weddings and the danger-infused, threatening situations in which they are worn in John Wick: Chapter 4.

7 "And He's Going To Kill You."

John Wick 4 features a parley between John and the Marquis in which the two decide on the methods of their duel. As John walks away, the Marquis says he does not see a family man in John, instead only seeing "John Wick: the killer." John replies "And he's going to kill you." This reply from John perfectly typifies his character, a killer who will murder those he needs to with no remorse to return to a life of peace that the family he once had brought him. It also fits with John's straightforward nature due to the bluntness of the threat made all the more badass by Reeves' delivery.

6 "It Was An Honor, My Friend."

Undoubtedly the most tragic quote in John Wick 4, Charon's final line of "It was an honor, my friend" is heartbreaking both in-universe and in the context of real life. Concerning the former, the friendship between Winston and Charon that has been solidified throughout the John Wick movies and more recently in 2023's The Continental makes Charon's death immensely tragic in the film, with his last line being a testament to his loyalty to Winston. Also, John Wick 4 was one of Lance Reddick's last performances after his death only a week before the film's release, meaning the line and plot point has added, heartbreaking context.

5 "Those Who Cling To Death; Live. Those Who Cling To Life; Die.”

These words are spoken by both Caine and John at the final duel of John Wick: Chapter 4 before their final shots are fired and have multiple meanings. The quote reflects John's journey in the John Wick franchise and his ultimate demise. In clinging to the life he once had, longing to be free of the High Table, John ultimately met his death after his freedom was declared. Conversely, the idea that assassins in the world of John Wick who revolve around death survive due to their skill set is one meaning of the quote.

However, the quote could also be interpreted as an interesting outlook on how to live life in general. Those who cling to death metaphorically by accepting that life is finite can live life to the fullest. Those who cling to life desperately through the fear of death end up having no peace, dying after living an unfulfilling life. All of these interpretations can be applied to the John Wick franchise and John's character, solidifying the series as more than a mere action-heavy quadrilogy.

4 “A Good Death Only Comes After A Good Life.”

Another great quote in John Wick: Chapter 4 relating to morality comes from Koji: "A good death only comes after a good life." Koji says this to John after telling him that he believes John will die trying to take down the High Table. The quote encapsulates the concept that death is only meaningful if a person has lived life to the full or at least accomplished their own version of a good life. In John's case, he avenges his wife's memory in the first film before standing up to the tyranny of the High Table in the latter three, solidifying his demise as the good death Koji spoke of earlier.

3 “What You Were So Good At Getting Johnathan, Revenge.”

A more straightforwardly badass line in John Wick 4 comes from Winston. After John asks the Continental manager what he gets out of the Marquis' demise, Winston simply replies "What you were so good at getting Jonathan, revenge." The line sums up how effective John has been throughout the movie series, consistently getting revenge against those who have wronged him. It also proves the relationship between John and Winston and the trust the latter has in the former to beat the High Table.

2 “Fools Talk. Cowards Are Silent. But Wise Men Listen.”

This line comes from Koji yet again in John Wick 4 after a High Table representative refers to Winston as a fool, implying Koji should not act similarly. Koji's reply is a fantastic, subtle threat disguised by wisdom. The quote simultaneously lists the High Table as fools for constantly talking authoritatively to anyone beneath them while listing himself as a wise man who listens to what these fools are saying and reacts accordingly, as explained by Koji's willingness to defy the High Table.

1 “Consequences”

Finally, an excellent quote comes as John kills the Marquis. After the villain earlier spoke to Winston about believing in rules and consequences, the Marquis thinks he has bested John after Caine shoots the latter. He walks up to John and simply says "Rules," implying that he is above them and that John is about to face the consequences of those rules. Instead, John retorts with "Consequences!" before shooting the Marquis in the head. The line is a neat callback to an earlier conversation in the film while also serving as a satisfying one-liner before the Marquis' death, solidifying it as one of John Wick: Chapter 4's best quotes.