John Wick: Chapter 2 – Review – More Guns, More Action

John Wick: Chapter 2 – The Sharply-Dressed Uber-Assassin Is Back For More

John Wick Chapter 2 (2017)
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Firstly, you have to understand that John Wick was never designed for a sequel. But, after a slew of very disappointing sequels that kicked off 2017, like Fate of The Furious, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Transformer: The Last Knight, The Mummy, John Wick: Chapter 2 was a breath of fresh air for me.

The first John Wick movie took me by surprise; it was a simple action film that was astoundingly brutal in its content, cruel in its delivery, and had a real punch to it. Hence, I was totally prepared for the unapologetic violence and the surreal world of assassins as I tuned in to watch the vengeance-bent uber-assassin in his second instalment. While John Wick Chapter 2 didn’t have the ability to sneak up on me unannounced, it did leave me wanting for more – more designer suited assassins, more guns, more violence, more action scenes, but, most of all, more John Wick.

John Wick Chapter 2 is a neo-noir action thriller and is the second part of the proposed trilogy, the last of which should hit theatres sometime in 2019. The first instalment of the trilogy was simple and straightforward – a bunch of Russian gangsters steal a retired assassin’s car and kill the puppy gifted to him by his late wife. The assassin then comes out of retirement and lays waste to all his enemies in total Kill Bill: Vol. I fashion. The assassin is, of course, John Wick.

The world has its own etiquette, aesthetic, and traditions, and Wick must shoot his way through plenty of faceless henchmen, and a few more recognisable faces, to reach his quarry.

John Wick: Chapter 2 – Better Than Most Sequels of 2017

In this second chapter, John Wick is forced out of retirement by a former associate looking to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood-oath to aid him, Wick travels to Rome and battles against some of the world’s most dangerous killers. The movie also pushes much harder on the old-fashioned formality of the contract killer’s code. The plot does not seem as organic as the first – the violence that draws Wick deeper seems to occur just for the sake of making the film happen.

While this limits the film it doesn’t stop it being enjoyable. The locations are brilliant, the cinematography has been tastefully handled and most of the actors did full justice to their roles. The action, of course, is simply marvellous. Watching Reeves engaged in a killing spree (guns, knives, hands, cars, etc.) reminds us of his Neo days from The Matrix Trilogy.

Thing is, John Wick was a self-contained effort, one that had a clear beginning, middle, and end, with no nods toward — nor ostensible need for — a follow-up. But, as Hollywood’s main mantra has always been profitability, which inevitably breeds progeny, so, now, Reeves’s well-dressed firearm fanatic is back in John Wick: Chapter 2, a sequel that has the unenviable task of both topping its predecessor’s slaughterhouse heights, as well as justifying its very existence.

In a certain sense, it falls shy of that second aim, if only because, this time around, Wick’s motivation for unholstering his weapons isn’t nearly as heartstring-tugging as the unwarranted slaying of his dog.

John Wick: Chapter 2 – Suffering From Sequel Fever Syndrome?

One surprising thing that I found, despite the number of kills and public gunfights, is that there are no policemen seen throughout the entire film besides Jimmy, who was also the only police officer in the first instalment. Though not integral to the story, it caught my attention. Another amazing fact is that Keanu Reeves performed almost all the fighting scenes himself, which is commendable.

Whether he’s being ambushed in underground catacombs or taking out hostiles on New York’s crowded streets, Wick fires ammunition in his foes’ heads with a ruthless efficiency and composure that never wavers, even when injured and outnumbered. Keanu Reeves again embodies Wick as a no-nonsense professional who lets his trigger finger do the talking as he peppers his adversaries with round after round.

Reeves’s minimalist approach to the character lends a deceptive semblance of substance that the script doesn’t define and the action doesn’t dramatise. Thankfully, the big-screen killing machine will be back in John Wick: Chapter 3.

This is one guy you don’t want to mess with.

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Verdict of The Idiot

Idiot-o-Meter: Far Out, Man!
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The Idiot’s Rating System:

4.0 – 5.0: The Dude Abides!
3.0 – 4.0: Far Out, Man!
2.0 – 3.0: Take It Easy, Dude!
1.0 – 2.0: You’re Out Of Your Element!
0.0 – 1.0: The Goddamn Plane Has Crashed Into The Mountain!