The first movie is by far the best of the four. It has a tight plot, a good mix of supporting characters (Aurelio, Perkins, Marcus), and the action/violence touches over the top, but never exceeds it. And the window into the underworld (Continental, gold coins, dinner reservations, and even Jimmy the cop) adds enough depth to keep you wanting just a bit more.

The subsequent movies ratchet up the body count, ratchet up the style (over substance) and become exercises more focused on world building (and destroying) than story and character. There are some standout scenes - the fight in the knife shop comes to mind - but the movies themselves don't leave any lasting impressions.

The fourth movie is so over the top - they blow up the Continental in NY, and nobody notices. They have a crazy fight in public at the Arc de Triomphe and nobody care. The final duel at Sacre Coeur is preposterous. There's no one at the church? Staff, security, public, police?

I'm all for a bit of stretching the truth, but the 4th movie was an exercise in self-indulgence by the creators. Perhaps the budget and other constraints of the first movie led to great creative decisions that more money, more freedom of the latter 3 couldn't replicate.