John Wick: Kapitel 2

"John Wick: Chapter 2" (2017 release; 122 min.) continues the 'adventures' of former (?) hit man John Wick. As the movie opens, we are immediately thrown in the middle of a car vs. bike chase, and next thing we know, we find our man retrieving his beloved Mustang from a chop shop in NYC, but not without cars flying about, and dozens of dead or wounded bodies. And that's all in the pre-opening credits! As the story unfolds, Wick, who wants "out, is nevertheless forced back "in" when an Italian baddie calls in a favor and Wick has no choice but to accept. To tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: director (and former stunt man) Chad Stahelski returns at the helm following the surprise success of the first John Wick movie, and once again delivers a highly stylish and ultra- violent action movie. When you watch the opening car chases (yes, in plural), it's like watching a synchronized ballet performance. I would not go as far to say that the story line doesn't matter, it does to a degree, but let's be honest: the reason we are there is to watch the car chases and the shoot-outs and the almost cartoonish level of violence that is so over the top, you can't help but laugh at it. Stahelski's thinking must have been: "when in doubt, (i) throw more bodies at it, and (ii) keep the focus on Keanu Reeves". Reeves is cold as ice in the best possible way, and it suits him perfectly in the film. Laurence Fishburn plays a small role (as another baddie) and the scenes where Reeves and Fishburn appear together are their first joint scenes ever since the Matrix Trilogy, if you can believe it. I couldn't believe how quickly these 2 hours flew by and I'm not spoiling anything when I tell you that the movie's ending sets it up nicely for a Chapter 3 in a couple of years. Count me in!

The movie opened wide this past weekend, and the Sunday matinée screening where I saw this at was absolutely jam-packed, somewhat to my surprise. Did I mention this movie is ultra-violent? And that it's rated R for good reason? I was outright dismayed to see how many small kids were in the theater. In the very row in front of me, there was a couple with three small girls, I'm guessing ages 5 to 7. What are these people thinking?!? Meanwhile, for us grown-ups, if you liked the first John Wick, you are more than going to like this sequel, you are going to LOVE it, be it at the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu- ray. "John Wick: Chapter 2" is a WINNER.

I felt the brilliance of the first film was found in the under lying mythology of the Continental Hotel, the coins, the laws/culture between the Reeves and some of the smaller parts (police official / bartender etc). As such I hoped that in the second film this would be continued; I wasn't disappointed.

The film continues from the first film with a great level of balance. Respecting the first film and allowing a 2-hour film to have its own identity without dragging was a challenge that was met well. The Laurence Fishburne element and the subsequent ending allow a great opening for another film.

Another strength of the movie is that the John Wicks character (like Neo i) is so well suited to Keanu Reeves. He is the strong-silent type and it feels Chad Stahelski, the Director, glorifies this and uses it to move the story forward. He gives you the same in an enhanced but similar format.

Loved : Lance Reddick as the Hotel Manager / Ruby Rose and the signing stuff Note: If you don't like people being shot in films – this is not the film for you!

In 2014, a Keanu Reeves revenge thriller John Wick became a surprise hit. I originally skipped out on the film as I felt that the trailers only showed an assassin story that I felt I've seen before. As far as I'm concerned, I made a big mistake. Before seeing the sequel, I felt it was important to watch the first one. I rented it on Amazon Prime and I was shock by what I saw; a dark, stylish, and fun action movie that is doing it's own thing. Though I've seen plenty stories about revenge (The Count of Monte Cristo and Moby Dick being the prime examples), I can't recall one over someone's pet being murdered.

I've always liked Keanu Reeves as an actor whether he's a metelhead from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, a SWAT officer in Speed, or "a chosen one" from The Matrix franchise. He has a more reserved, yet intriguing way of adapting that to his characters. Under a good direction, this can create a strong character. This has worked for John Wick, which reminds me of an older James Bond-type if the movie was more of a noir. I was happy to sit and watch John Wick: Chapter 2.

After a great opening where he finishes his mission from the first movie to collect his stolen car, John Wick (played by Keanu Reeves) returns home with his new dog to try and find peace with his retirement and death of his wife from before. Like a lot of typical spy movies, John gets visited by Italian crime lord Santino D'Antonio (played by Riccardo Scamarcio)who asks him to come out of retirement. Santino asks to have his sister assassinated so that her brother can have her seat at a table of mafia heads. When John refuses despite making a blood oath years ago, Santino has the assassins home destroyed.

John accepts the job knowing that saying no would only put his life in danger. In Rome, he finds the sister Gianna at a party, but she commits suicide rather then allowing an assassin to get her. On his way out, John finds himself double-crossed by Santino who has sent some of his weaponed goons lead by the mute Ares (played by Ruby Rose). Though John escapes and makes it back to New York, Santino has put out a seven million dollar contract on our hero to cover all the tracks.

John Wick: Chapter 2 manages to pull off a really good sequel. Not only does it expand the John Wick universe more, but the stakes feel bigger and the villains seem more threatening. Now that I have seen the first movie, I can see how tough it would be to follow up on a pretty good action movie. Unlike the Taken sequels which simply repeated the formula over and over again, John Wick: Chapter 2 still feels fresh thanks to it's plot which honestly kept me guessing on how things were going to move forward.

Do I think it's a higher rated movie then before? No, simply because if it does have any faults, it's that it feels a bit long. Not the segment in Rome, but when John returns to New York. It's quick pace suddenly halts when he visits a friend. Though the scene is okay, I feel like they could have cut it in favor have keeping up with John's mysterious background.

Keanu Reeves is still the perfect choice as John Wick. You can tell this man wants to be happy, but understand that with his connection to the crime world, is unlikely to happen. This is enough to keep me hyped for another John Wick movie.

I'll give this eight grey pitbulls out of ten. If you liked the first movie, you'll definitely like the sequel. John Wick has plenty of action waiting to burst, so I can only say love your dog and go see this sequel.

A film with more head-shots than words spoken, John Wick: Chapter 2 is just about the most violent film I've seen in quite some time. But it knows exactly what it wants to do, and succeeds immensely.

Keanu Reeves isn't one of the best actors working today, and I don't think he would disagree with that statement. But he's no doubt one of the most committed actors out there. There's no more than a few pages of total spoken dialogue throughout 'Chapter 2', and Reeves has probably a maximum of 30 lines, all of which aren't necessarily delivered as well as they should be. But it doesn't ultimately matter. Sure, John Wick could be a better franchise if the scripts were of the same caliber as say a Bond or a Bourne movie, but that's not really why you go see one of these movies. You go to see Keanu Reeves kick some butt amidst some of the best choreographed action in cinema.

Chapter 2 picks up not too long after the first film ends as Wick is somewhat enjoying his life as a "retired" assassin. If the first film was about him coming back to seek revenge, this film is Wick reluctantly coming back because he owes a debt to another assassin. I don't think the filmmakers truly could have imagined this would be a franchise off the bat, but it's sure shaping up to be quite the intriguing universe. The one thing that has always struck me as appealing in this series is the way they portray the world Wick lives in. Yes, it's present day, but the world that surrounds Wick is heightened to make for more exciting action (it's essentially a world full of super assassins). But at the same time, the films are incredibly grounded with reality. It's that balance that so few films can accomplish to this particular level.

Taking the famous Liam Neeson line "I will kill you" to a whole new level, Wick claims "I will kill them all". And that's pretty much your movie. Wick doesn't want to come back, he owes a debt and is forced to return for one more kill, and then the bounty on his head reaches just about everyone linked to The Continental's database. The rest of the movie is Wick delivering killing blows to just about anyone who stands in his way in the most creative ways possible. Isn't it about time people leave this guy alone? Overall, John Wick: Chapter 2 promised visceral action (all impressively in camera- yeah, I'm looking at you Resident Evil) and we got just that. Even if the dialogue can be clunky and the performances are over the top, it doesn't really matter. What matters is this series continues to be a pleasant surprise in an age where great action movies are too few and far between.

+Insanely well-done action

+Tops the first film's scope

+The universe Derek Kolstad has built

-Some dialogue is bland and even lazy

8.6/10

Iosef's uncle still has John Wick's car. Wick comes after it and the uncle accepts his offer of peace. He hopes to return to his peaceful retirement but crime lord Santino D'Antonio calls in his Marker. He faces deadly assassins, numerous killers, and countless thugs as Santino uses him to gain power even offering a $7 million contract.

Gun Fu is loads of fun and the addition of Pencil Fu is glorious. What makes the original great is the simple, powerful, and poetic motivation of John Wick. The sequel could not possibly repeat that. They can't kill off another dog. This one delivers what it could. Keanu Reeves remains the same and there is more fighting. The plot is almost meaningless. It is all action and all Wick.