Summary:
The further adventures of hit man John Wick.
My Thoughts:
I know most of the staff at TMM holds the original “John Wick” in pretty high regard. In my review for that film, I stated that I think “John Wick” is one of the better American action movies to come out during the 2010s, and believe it or not, I think “John Wick: Chapter 2” is even better than the original.
There are a few things that make the John Wick series stand out; for one thing, they’re incredibly polished as far as the action goes: it’s easy to see what’s going on, and the action has a purpose. While Wick (Keanu Reeves, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”) might be killing droves of people in mind-boggling ways, he has a mission and a reason for why he is where he is, and why he’s killing whom he’s killing. Another thing that elevates the Wick series is its worldbuilding, and the wordbuilding in this film not only makes the first film better, it expands the horizons of the world further than I ever would’ve thought possible for an action movie about a guy getting revenge for his dog. The worldbuilding is the real reason I’ve watched the John Wick movies five or six times, because the action is awesome, but the gravity of the consequences is what make the action exciting, and this film knows how to weight those consequences.
In the first film, we get a sense that Wick is part of a secret assassin group known who use a service/ hotel known as the Continental, which is run by a man named Winston (Ian McShane, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”), and in this film, we learn more about how far the reach of the Continental goes, and also how powerful this assassin group really is. “John Wick: Chapter 2” is, in my opinion, the only 2010s American movie that rivals the action of “The Raid 2” (a film that I consider the pinnacle of the action genre), while crafting a world that feels wholly unique. The John Wick series is something special, and the second entry is really where we get a glimpse of just how awesome that world can be.
“You’re not very good at retiring.”
After the events of the first film, John Wick (Reeves), the ultra-powerful ex-hit-man who was dragged out of retirement, continues his slaughter of Russians, eventually confronting Abram (Peter Stormare, “Chocolat”) and offering him peace. Abram accepts, and Wick is content to return to retirement, but when he returns home he finds Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio, “Loose Cannons”) waiting for him. Santino charges Wick with a contract he cannot refuse (due to the rules of the world): Wick must kill Santino’s sister Gianna D’Antonio (Claudia Gerini, “The Passion of the Christ”) thus passing her title to Santino. Wick travels to Rome, unwilling to complete the task before him, but unable to refuse it. He finds himself facing off not only against Gianna, but also her bodyguards Ares (Ruby Rose, “The Meg”) and Cassian (Common, “Oceans Eight”). But as Wick heads further into the labyrinthine world of assassins, he find he might have gotten in too deep, and he must turn to some of his old friends, like the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne, “Last Flag Flying”) for help.
So I’ve already mentioned the two things that make this film great: action and worldbuilding. Lets start with action.
In the first film, there are tons of gunfights, crazy martial arts displays, and killer knife fights. This film steps it up a bit. Right away, we start with a car chase and go into a warehouse fight, before then going into a dialogue scene that ends in an explosion. This movie starts off like the wick has already been lit; we’re off and running, and really the pacing never slows down. The fights are beautifully shot and choreographed- there’s none of that shaky-cam stuff where we can’t see anything that’s actually happening. The fights are shot wide enough that we can see everything, letting us know that the real stars here are those doing the action. To top it off, Wick’s world is bathed in neon tones that really help sell the coolness of the film.
I will say that some of the action requires a little suspension of disbelief. John Wick is nigh invincible in this movie- he gets shot, stabbed, run over, thrown from heights… and he always gets up and is ready to fight immediately after the last blow landed. Sure, it’s a little silly, but hey, I don’t go into a James Bond (“Skyfall”) or Rambo (“Rambo: First Blood Part II”) movie and complain about how the bad guys can’t hit anything while the titular characters could kill anything with a mean look. With movies like this, you sort of just have to take the action in stride; I’m not looking for realism, I’m looking for fun.
Which brings me to point number two, the worldbuilding. Now, usually action movies don’t usually have to do a ton of worldbuilding for me to find them fun, but it certainly helps. “Rambo: First Blood Part 2” barely did any worldbuilding, they just threw a guy in Vietnam and asked him to grab some POWs, and that movie is a blast. At the same time, movies like “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” are heavily reliant on worldbuilding and they utilize world-specific ideas that to create plot points that are unique to their storylines. The John Wick series is set in a world crawling with assassins, many of which belong to the secret society known as The Continental. While we as viewers are not given a list of rules as to what happens in the Continental, we are given glimpses of those rules. We learn, for instance, about the gold coin system they use, about the markers (blood pacts used in exchange for undeniable favors), and about some of the rules regarding the Continental itself, like the fact that killing is not allowed on the inside of the hotel. Those rules and those that strictly follow the rules give the world and the actions more weight.
Verdict:
Overall, this is an amazing action movie. Not only does it exceed the original in terms of action, but it also ups the ante in terms of brains. The “John Wick” series also benefits from multiple viewings- I’m not saying the plots are remarkably complex, but the intricacies of the plot and world really come to light with a second or third viewing (plus they’re just a ton of fun!). I personally love the first two entries in the John Wick series, and I can’t wait for the third entry (“John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum”).
Review Written By: