Welcome back everyone to my next throwback review, where we will be taking a look at the sequel to one of my favorite action movies, John Wick. Now I have already shared my thoughts on the original John Wick, so if you want, you can check out that review right now, and then come back here to read this one. This film is one of the best examples of a breakout sequel in that it grossed much more than the original thanks to goodwill, and strong buzz, and its not hard to see why as not only is it a great continuation, it actually might be better than the first. So in time for the release of John Wick Chapter 3 Parabellum, lets take a look at the second outing for Baba Yaga.
Not long after the end of the first film, and after an opening action sequence where John goes to “make peace” with some old friends, John takes another shot at trying to live a normal life, this time with the new Pitbull he got at the end of the first film. But it’s not long before those plans are cut short, and his old life comes back to bother him again, as an old acquaintance of his, Italian gangster, Santino D’Antonio shows up at his house with a gold marker, which is sort of a blood oath they have, trying to convince John to repay favors of the past. While John politely refuses at first, it looks like he has no say in the matter, once D’Antonio blows up his house with him barely surviving it. Add in the Continental hotel owner, Winston forcing him to respect Secret Assassins Society’s code, and Wick reluctantly accepts his assignment to travel to Rome, and assassinate D’Antonio’s sister who is in line to become the next leader of the Camorra Crime Syndicate. However once John starts to learn what will happen if he carries out this task, he must make the tough decision of doing what he is told so he can get back to his life, or stopping this situation, and facing the consequences of those actions.
John Wick Chapter 2 is another great example of a sequel just building on its predecessor, and everything we loved about it, while adding a couple of new elements to spice things up a bit. The stakes for one, are much higher than they were in the first, which increases the tension levels quite a bit, and makes us care for John Wick, and want to see him get out of this mess. But this time the film also asks does John Wick even deserve to live because of what he does, and the fact that he really does not have much to live for yet fights for it anyway, which adds a surprising amount of substance to the proceedings. But the film, like the first, is not happy with simply spoon feeding everything to the audience at once and believes that the they are smart enough to understand the relationships between characters and you can definitely feel this shared history between many of them even if you never saw that history, which is just so great, and makes many of the characters feel well rounded. The world is also expanded upon here greatly as the movie contains that same fantastic world-building present in the first installment. We get to see even more of how this world of assassins work, with different organizations, there being multiple Continental Hotels, where assassins get their equipment, and so much more. We even get to see a couple of the other assassins show off their skills with John Wick, which is again just so amazing.
But not only does the story, and world-building get better, but so does the action as this movie is just brimming with so much of it. These movies are just something to behold when it comes to their action sequences, as they are thrilling, brutal, bloody, and a sight to behold all at the same time. Chad Stahelski has crafted some amazing stuff here, and give props to the cinematographer because the film is shot so well, with some beautiful imagery that almost feels like an art house film at times (and I mean that as a very big compliment). There is also more variety in terms of the action here, as there are shoot-outs, fist fights, knife fights, and even one car chase, and they were all so memorable (the opening car chase, the shoot out in the Catacombs, John fighting the assassins, the reflections of Life scene, and do I even need to say more). The film also moves at a very nice pace as I was not bored at all, and was always on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Once again the score composed by Tyler Bates, and Joel J. Richard captures the mood of the film really well and gets the blood pumping, and I find it really weird how not many people talk about it that much.
Of course just like the first time around, what would this film be without the performance of its lead, played masterfully by Keanu Reeves. He once again shows why is an action movie legend, but is still vulnerable both physically, and emotionally. Unlike some other action movie heroes, who are just invincible, and essentially superhuman, John Wick actually gets hurt, and we see his wounds very clearly, and that even if he a legendary assassin he still human just like all of us, and just wants to live a good life, which makes him one of the most compelling action heroes, and when he gets hurt the audience is legitimately concerned, and Reeves work here exemplifies this so well (again did most of his own stunts here). Reeves is also aided by a great supporting cast that gets more to do than the one in the first film. Returning players like Ian Mcshane, and Lance Reddick get more to do, and say here, especially Mcshane who does a nice job of presenting Winston as this sort of father type figure to Wick. Riccardo Scamarcio makes D’Antonio a very interesting, and compelling villain as he is not your typical diabolical gangster (just like Viggo in one), and I also enjoyed his mute henchwoman Ares, played by Ruby Rose who provides some good comedy to the film. Other people like Claudia Gerini as Gianna D’Antonio, and Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King (AKA dove man) make a presence, and have some great conversations with Mr. Wick himself, but the standout of the new cast far, and away is Common as John’s rival assassin, Cassian. Not only does he have the best interactions with Wick, and some of the best lines, he also proves himself to be quite the action star in his fight scenes, and I do hope he considers pursuing more roles like this (a Cassian spin off would be great).
All in all John Wick Chapter 2 is an action movie masterpiece that does what the best sequels do, and that is successfully build on what was there before, and add some new elements to the table to keep things interesting and new. It makes me very upset that freaking Fifty Shades Darker made more on its opening weekend (its weird how this and the first film lost out at the box office to very poorly received movies with the first one losing out to Ouija), but luckily it is remembered much more fondly. I just love this franchise so much, and can’t wait to see more of it, and I also hope Chad Stahelski goes on to direct more high profile stuff in the future as he absolutely deserves it. So with all of that said I have on more thing to say, and that is bring on Parabellum, because I am ready!
Rating: A+
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