John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
Action, Crime, Thriller
Directed By: Chad Stahelski
As movie fans, whenever we hear the word "sequel" we can't help but assume the law of diminishing returns would take effect. Yeah, there is the rare, great sequel that matches or even outdoes its predecessor, but they are few and far between. The thing about John Wick, however, is that it had laid down a rich, yet lightly touched upon mythology that us diehard fans simply wanted to know more about and that could easily be built upon in future films. Our thirst to learn more about The Continental and the management who runs it became as large as our desire to see Wick popping more headshots.
Two years later, writer Derek Kolstad, director Chad Stahelski, and star Keanu Reeves are all back to tell the next chapter in John Wick's tale. Picking up shortly after the first movie ends, Mr. Wick finds himself being drawn right back into the world he has been trying his best to retire from. A dark figure from his past re-emerges to cash in on a debt owed to him from long ago and he has no choice but to once again pick up his guns and do what he does best, kill. The mission isn't so cut and dry though and in true John Wick fashion, it leads to a hefty price being put on his head.
John Wick: Chapter 2 is the rare sequel that succeeds on every level it needs to, whether you are a fan who enjoyed the original just for the insane "gun-fu" action then there is plenty for you to go crazy for in this new story. From the opening scene to the last Wick is relentlessly kicking more ass than you can imagine and the ways in which he is doing it are stunning. Director/choreographer/stunt-man Chad Stahelski and his now long-time collaborator Keanu Reeves have crafted stunningly gorgeous action sequences that stand apart from most anything you've seen before. It's game changing for American action films and we are sure to see countless rip-offs in the near future.
Watching this new movie I couldn't help but relate the structure of the action sequences, and even major parts of the story, back to classic first-person-shooter video games. Much like in those games, John Wick is, in a way, going through different levels, with each becoming gradually harder. After every couple, he finds himself in a higher stakes fight with a "boss" character that has a greater chance of defeating him and usually leaving him with physical damage. This just furthers my theory that the best "video game movies" will always be the ones not based on any game at all, but on original ideas like these.
Through two movies they have also adopted a distinct aesthetic using bold lighting, booming music, and a vibrant color palette. The hyper-stylized design of the film helps us to open up our minds to the some of the wackier and more unbelievable aspects of this world. Take the club scene from the first film for example. You aren't so concerned with the collateral damage of him murdering two dozen men in cold blood while you are being visually assaulted by vibrant teal neons and booming electric music.
What makes this second chapter truly great though is the furthering of the fascinating mythology from the original. For the fans who saw John Wick as something truly special because of the fantasy world it created, this movie has so much for you to love. They don't just go back to The Continental and reintroduce us to management, they introduce us to entirely new sides of the world we had no idea existed. Whether it be little things, like the Hotels "sommelier", or major things, like the strict rules management has put in place ad how they affect them all, they are constantly giving us new nuggets to chew on.
The addition of all of this extra information and mythology is not without its costs, though. In order to take us deeper into this world they, at times, have to sacrifice interesting characters to populate the world around Wick. The addition of Common and Laurence Fishburne is great but even so, I felt none of the new characters had an impact as big as Alfie Allens "Iosef" or Michael Nyqvist's "Viggo". The closest I felt the film came to a truly memorable new character was Peter Stormare as Viggo's brother Abram, but he sadly barely has any screen time in the movie.
This is a minor quibble for me as plenty of the original cast of characters reprise their roles from the first film. Aside from Keanu returning in the title role, side characters like Ian McShane's Winston and Lance Reddick's Charon are back to ease us into the world of assassins we fell so deep in love with the first time around, both bringing their A-game as usual. I believe it goes without saying that Mr. Reeves is more than stellar reprising the title role and I for one could watch him in this role for another five movies.
Is Chapter 2 better than the original? Who Knows, and really, who cares? Both are phenomenal hard-R-rated action movies that deliver on both carnage and story. The creators of this new franchise know exactly what they want out of it and are delivering it to us in a near flawless way. These movies may not be for everyone but for those who find their kicks in watching Keanu Reeves break skulls than this is sure to dominate your weekend/month/year/life, bring on chapter 3.
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find em anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
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