In terms of straight up action movies, the market seems to have run dry in recent years. Sure, we get the occasional Taken sequel, Bastille Day or Jack Reacher flick, but these movies are all as forgettable as they are expensive. “Action” has become a dirty word, unless you can pair it with something else like “spy,” “sci-fi,” or “superhero.” Not that there’s anything wrong with those genres, it’s just that sometimes it’s nice to see a man in a suit with bullet wounds and no weapons take down a warehouse full of car-jacking goons. This is exactly what John Wick: Chapter 2 delivers.
Hot off the heels of John Wick back in 2014, writer Derek Kolstad again teamed up with director Chad Stahelski to create another neo-noir action film that was bigger and better than the first. Where the first film was a more personal revenge story that hinted at a larger world, John Wick 2 fully explores the rich and mysterious universe and expands on many of the returning side characters. Set only days after the events of the first film, Keanu Reeves is back as former assassin John Wick; pulled back into the world he tried so desperately to leave behind in his past.
John Wick 2 does what it sets out to do; doubling the action with bigger sets, more elaborate sequences, and longer fight scenes choreographed in the incredible gun-fu style. In an era where fight scenes are filled with shaky cam and hard-to-follow editing that disguises poor fight choreography, it is refreshing to see a director pull the camera back and actually let the audience see the incredible stunt work happening on screen. Audiences in an action movie are mostly there to see one thing: good action. We want to see Keanu Reeves flip a man over his shoulder and stab his neck with a pencil, is that so hard?
Speaking of badass action star and all round nice guy, Keanu Reeves once again delivers exactly what this movie needs, playing the man who has lost it all except his uncanny ability to slaughter a ridiculous number of gangsters and assassins. Say what you will about his monotone voice and deadpan delivery, the man can wear a suit and shoot a gun. And when he’s alongside such charismatic actors as Ian McShane playing Winston, the mysterious owner of the New York Continental hotel, and Laurence Fishburne playing underground crime lord The Bowery King, that’s all Reeves really needs to do. Rapper turned actor Common and Ruby Rose both play other assassins who are doing their best Keanu Reeves impressions, but neither are as memorable as Willem Dafoe’s assassin from the first film.
The visuals, on the other hand, are just as memorable as the first. Travelling to Italy is always going to provide some delicious eye candy, but merging the architecture of Rome with a modern concert allows the striking neon red and blue colour scheme to return. The colours made the ancient ruins seem as modern and exciting as the nightclub sequence from the first film.
It’s true when they say some sequels are never as good as the originals. Some of the second act fight scenes go on for a little too long and start to feel a bit repetitive. And while the stunts are still phenomenal, the tension slips away after the 30th kill when you realise Wick is in no real danger at all. Thankfully the third act picks up the tension again which crescendos in a glorious climax in the last 15 minutes of the film.
Replicating the success of the first John Wick was always going to be a near impossible task. John Wick: Chapter 2 gets about as close as you can get to recreating the magic of the first film, while expanding on the lore and delivering a sleek action spectacle that is deserving of every dollar it receives at the box-office. John Wick 2, you got my vote.
