'John Wick: Chapter 2' A Review

John Wick: Chapter 2 is an action thriller, the sequel to the 2014 original. The film picks up almost immediately after the first installment. Having avenged his dog assassin/boogeyman John Wick(Keanu Reeves) goes to retrieve his stolen car mowing through would-be adversaries. Task completed he attempts to resume his retirement from "the life" however Italian crime boss Santino D’Antonio(Riccardo Scamarcio) calls in a blood debt and forces Wick back into action. Consequences ensue and bodies pile up as Wick does what he does best.

Reeves performances in the last couple years seem particularly unfettered. He is always charming and his action abilities have only become more precise and engaging, but he seems to no longer be bound by strict realism, there is an impressionistic quality to a number of his more recent roles. Less serious, louder, and more fun. And as John Wick he has particularly struck a cord with this new mode of performance. Both menacing and gleeful. The world taken together hints at an underworld mythology which gives all the performances this more-than real quality. Most of the cast is returning, all pleasing, with the notable and diverting new addition of Laurence Fishburne as a crime boss The Bowery King.

This installment expands and solidifies the John Wick universe and doubles down on the action. The fight choreography is incredibly precise and intense, the action sequences elaborate with a striking clarity. Taken together it's quite incredible. The only way Chapter 2 falls short of the original is emotional. Without the clear catalyst of the first installment the motivations of the sequel are somewhat muddled asking Reeves to not only fight and shoot his way out of certain death but also emote, a bit of a tall order.

Impressive world building, stunning action, somewhat lacking in why.

Rent It.