On our vision quest to witness the next chapter in the John Wick saga, a few of our female compatriots had not been privy to plot of the original film. When asked what the first one was about in order to be caught up for the sequel, we simply told them: "So, John Wick is this badass hitman who's gotten 'out of the game'. Then, some bad guys kill his dog and he kills everyone." This was scoffed at several times and the question "No, seriously, what's it about?" persisted because no movie could possibly have such little plot and ONLY be about one guy killing... everyone. For those who have seen the original John Wick... while there is a "little more" to the story that adds to character depth and background... that is essentially the entire film's plot. What's even better is that John Wick is a wickedly entertaining film with some of the most creative gun violence ever filmed. So, naturally... there had to be a sequel. But, in order to live up to the magic of the first one it's going to have to get bigger, more violent, more creative, and have some sort of different driving plot because, again, in the first film... he literally kills everyone.
John Wick Chapter 2 had a lot to live up to, but those standards were not only met, they were exceeded. What's great about the movie is it didn't fall into the two sequel traps. The first trap is that they take a simple story and expand the universe in ridiculous ways that loses the magic of the first film because it takes a character from a journey you already enjoyed and places him or her in a different journey that doesn't really flow with energy of that already established character. The second pitfall, henceforth known as The Hangover pitfall, is presenting the exact same movie you've already seen once or twice, having nearly the exact same things happen... in a new location. John Wick Chapter 2 avoids both of these pitfalls and does what good sequels do-- amps everything up (especially the violence), knows the character and the world, expands the mythology of the world in organic and fun ways, and gives us something new while channeling the fun and energy of the first film. This is where John Wick Chapter 2 succeeds mightily.
Plot description? Sure, why not! John Wick... having just gotten back into the game to seek revenge on the fools who killed his dog and stole his car is pulled in YET AGAIN due to some sort of blood pact he made with this shitty Italian dude. He's pulled into the world... against his will... to pull a job he doesn't want to do. When he completes the job, he's double-crossed and guess what ladies and gentlemen... He literally has to kill EVERYONE! There couldn't possibly more people left to kill, right? You may think that... but you'd be wrong. Dead wrong! Shitty Italian prick puts a hit out on John Wick, which essentially ropes every hitman in the greater New York area in to finding and snuffing out ol' Wick. So, in order to protect himself, and seek further revenge on the shitty Italian dude for turning on him. And it's beautiful.
If you thought you had seen it all when it came to handgun head-shots in the first film... you haven't seen anything yet. The body count in this film (according to the internet) at John Wick's hand alone is over one hundred. I guess I didn't really have to specify that each death is attributed to Wick because no one else dies by anyone else's hand. It's literally... John Wick... killing everyone. And it's beautiful.
Keanu Reeves has really taken this career resurgence and channeled it into the perfect films. He's never been a great actor to begin with (very, very likable, but not a great actor) and John Wick is the prefect character for him to portray. He's quiet, doesn't like to talk much, brooding, angry, and bad-f**king-ass. So, when those one-line Keanu moments happen and you want to shake your head at how hammy he sounds just saying words... in this world... the John Wick world... it works and it's awesome. Aside from violent as all hell, the film is a ton of fun. It's got some very good humor (intentional... this is actually a movie that knows what it is) and colorful characters. And while the character John Wick takes everything serious (again, has to kill everyone), the film does not take itself seriously at all, which is what makes the film so enjoyable. I'm going to have to watch the original again, but we may have on our hands, that rare experience where the sequel is better than its predecessor.
Director Chad Stahelski knows his audience. People going to see John Wick are die-hard action fans yearning for the magic of 90s action with contemporary violence. There are very clever action scenes in settings that are quite colorful, showing the maturation of the current climate of action films. Then there are very campy (albeit impressive) moments of ridiculous action stunts. Hell, there's even the call back to the very best (and worst) of 90s action films when the lead character looking for an escape, climbs into someone's car, frantically searches for keys, then checks the sun visor and magically that's where they were kept. And it's beautiful.
Now, certainly John Wick Chapter Two is not going to be for everyone. This movie is a lot of fun, but it's quite violent and graphic and a real testosterone punch to the nards... but for someone like myself (and strangely my girlfriend) it's the exact type of movie that I enjoy more than most. And yes, I realize that the grade below may seem slightly high for a movie where Keanu Reeves fights a Chinese man sumo-wrestler style and stabs another man in the ear with a pencil... but for what it is... for what it knows exactly what it is... it gets the grade that it deserves. And it's beautiful.
A
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