John Wick: Chapter 2

Anyone who enjoyed 2014's John Wick is sure to enjoy Chapter 2.  By all accounts, this sequel could be labeled "more of the same", but in this case, it carries over and expands upon everything that made the original work.  It still has a plot that could be spelled out in its entirety on the face of a napkin, but it makes up for it with an endless string of exciting, high octane action, dry wit and a certain style that makes it compulsively watchable.  The increased length (this movie is just over two hours, while the original was a lean 100 minutes) is a bit much, but it shouldn't lessen the enthusiasm for fans of the first.

Again, a big part of the appeal is the lead performance by Keanu Reeves.  He doesn't come across as the most personable action hero, and he's not supposed to.  Instead, we can feel the rage building within him during the course of the film.  A role like John Wick demands a presence that can convince you he can single handedly take out an entire room full of men (all the while stealing the ammo from dead bodies so that he can reload), and Reeves is able to portray that presence with ease.  He's intimidating, but he's not soulless.  After all, Wick is essentially a man who just wants to be left alone, but the world won't let him.  By the time he's virtually gunning his way down the streets of New York during the extended climax (a more appropriate title for this movie would have been John Wick vs. The City of New York), we are sold on the idea that this one man can take down waves upon waves of hired killers, and that's pretty much all this movie needs.

The plot more or less picks up where the last film left off, with John finishing up some "unfinished business" that was left unresolved in the original.  When that is done, he's looking forward to some quiet time, and plans to leave his old life behind, once again burying his tools of the professional killer trade in a secret cemented vault in the basement.  A boss from the old days named Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) pays John a visit, wanting him to do a job for him.  When John flat-out refuses, Santino shows his disappointment by blowing up John's house.  Wick makes his way into Manhattan with his only possession (a dog and the clothes on his back), and learns from his friend Winston (Ian McShane) that he has no choice but to honor Santino's request, as per the rules of the crime syndicate that John is a member of.  His mission is to assassinate Santino's sister (Claudia Gerini), and once that is out of the way and John wants to focus on taking out Santino himself, he finds he has a $7 million bounty on his head (placed by Santino), and every killer on the streets of New York gunning for him.

John Wick: Chapter 2 can be wild and frantic with its action, just like the first, but it also carries over the skillful craft from before, fortunately.  There are no quick edits or sequences where we can't tell what is happening due to an out of control camera.  The action is also brutal, but not so much that we find ourselves turned off by the movie.  When John Wick does something really nasty to one of the many villains, we find ourselves wanting to pump our fist in the air (with an optional scream of "Hell, yes!") instead of wincing.  The movie more or less has the mentality of a video game, with a little bit of plot thrown our way, followed by extended sequences with our hero running and gunning down as many hired goons as possible.  But it's all done with a lot more skill than we usually get in action movies these days.  This is not a smart movie, but it's smartly made, and that can be seen in the skill of the technical credits and stunts.

This is more or less Reeves' movie all the way through, but that doesn't mean that a few other actors don't get to stand out.  Recording artist Common, playing the bodyguard of the woman John is initially sent to kill, gets a few really well done fights with Reeves throughout the film.  And while the main villain is not as interesting as he could be, he is helped out significantly by Ruby Rose, who plays his main henchwoman and creates a very intimidating presence with no actual spoken dialogue.  The movie also has a bit of fun by throwing in Reeves' Matrix co-star, Lawrence Fishburne, into the mix in a small, but major role.     This easily could have been distracting, but the filmmakers find a way to make it work.

In yet another skillful move, the film ends in such a way to leave things open for a third film, but it's not so open-ended that audiences will feel cheated if it never comes. (Judging by the crowd and the reaction at my screening, I would say a continuation is a safe bet.) I'm sure there will be those who say that John Wick: Chapter 2 does little to set itself apart from the first, and they're probably right.  But when it's this well done and this much fun, does it really matter?

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