As you can probably expect, I take a notebook along when I go to the cinema and write notes as references for my upcoming review. Usually, they’ll be a fairly equal mix of discussing the writing, filmmaking, character work, and so on. My notes for John Wick: Chapter 2, however, almost entirely consist of how awesome, fun, and badass multiple scenes were. The sequel to 2014’s cult classic widens the scope considerably while staying extremely true to its roots of being a franchise where Keanu Reeves shoots lots of people in the head in entertaining ways, and continues the previous film’s self-awareness while adding in even more great cameos and improving on the first’s already damned impressive cinematography and stunt work.
What’s equally impressive is how long it managed to hold my attention during a fairly lengthy section with almost no action whatsoever. After a blistering, exhilarating cold open with an extremely welcome appearance from Peter Stromare, letting you know exactly what universe you’re in basically immediately, the movie slows down for around a third of its two-hour running time to introduce the main players and set up more stakes. John Wick, re-retired after the events of the first movie, is visited by an Italian mafia boss wanting to collect on an old blood debt. Wick refuses — strictly forbidden by underworld rules — and is rewarded by having his house burned down and his rage reignited, leading to all manner of blood-spattered antics.
Many of the more talky scenes are still extremely fun, with the movie managing to effortlessly hit on the perfect tone between badass and goofy and including extremely satisfying returns for almost all characters left alive from the previous movie — and also Peter Serafinowicz shows up, which is always a plus in my book. Only the very final scene before the action begins leans too hard into melodrama, with one especially silly moment taken surprisingly seriously for a movie that usually knows exactly what it is.
But then the bullets fly, and barely let up until the end — and oh my, is it glorious. The movie feels more cinematic than the first while simultaneously getting more up-close and personal with its shots. It isn’t able to feel as fresh as Chapter 1, but that doesn’t prevent it from being — there’s no poetic way to put this — utterly cool as hell in every way. The use of long takes is again superb, with director Chad Stahelski’s stuntman past obvious as he puts the unbelievable choreography at the forefront — this is the Swan Lake of dudes gettin’ capped, with Reeves and the rest putting in an admirable amount of dedication. Compared to so many recent action flicks, the geography of each location and scene is never less than completely clear — which is even more impressive than it sounds given one fight takes place in an actual maze of mirrors. There’s also more variety in the action, including an opening car chase and some more overtly comedic scenes, with one never-ending stairs tumble veering on slapstick in the best way. The visuals are frequently beautiful, especially during an atmospheric scene in Roman catacombs, while the sound work and music are dialled up to 11, absolutely enveloping you in gunfire and drawing you into the action. The only issue I would mention is that sometimes — especially in the aforementioned catacombs scene — the villains suffer from terrible shot syndrome. Just shoot the dude! He’s right there!
The other reason John Wick became an immediate underground hit was the unexpectedly gripping mythology, where assassins have their own underground network with its own rules and customs. This element is expanded upon to extremely satisfying effect in the follow-up, with the reveal that the Continental — a safe resting spot for hitmen, with no business allowed — is a worldwide enterprise being especially amusing, while brief mentions of the elusive ‘High Table’ only serve to add more intrigue. Oh yeah, and there’s an actual switchboard service for professional hits. It’s so much fun, and I haven’t even gotten to how no pedestrians ever give a damn about any of the chaos occurring around them.
Reeves, once again, gives a deeply committed performance. His admiration and passion for the character and universe is clear, and he is able to make this insanely skilled, unstoppable killing machine completely human. It’s such a good blend of actor and material. The rest of the cast are no slouches either — a larger role for Ian McShane as Continental owner Winston is one of the movie’s best choices, with him completely dominating every scene he features in, while impressive new additions include rapper Common (not Coolio, as I mistakenly wrote in my notes) as Wick’s peer Cassian and Ruby Rose as deaf mafia bodyguard Ares (can we please give her her own action franchise already?). I won’t spoil the best cameo, which occurs close to the end, other than to say they almost run away with the whole movie and that I very much appreciated the Ghost Dog reference.
John Wick: Chapter 2 isn’t quite as complete a package as the first. Towards the end it begins stretching to set up a sequel, with one decision Wick makes almost entirely unbelievable with everything we’ve learned about him so far. Yet I still couldn’t be more excited for the eventual third movie, and the very final scenes are chill-inducing. This movie had to walk a pretty thin tightrope, keeping the tone and style of its prequel while expanding out in many ways, and for the most part it accomplished it with aplomb. The adrenaline level has been upped, and while it takes more breathers than the first movie it still almost never drags. Any pure action movie wanting to claim the 2017 crown is going to have a pretty tough struggle.
