John Wick: Chapter 2

• Hello Mr. Wick. The usual Mr. Wick? - Oh good to see you again Mr. Wick! - Long time no see Mr. Wick! - Troubles John? - Ah Johnny, we missed you!

Cheers! Where everybody knows your name! Despite the fact that you are ...the bogeyman! A mysterious ghost! The man who lurks in the shadows! The man who killed 3 men and 2 dogs with a paper clip (or was it a pen?). A lethal weapon out of this world!

I have nothing against Keanu Reeves. Likable actor, good in the matrix, and a modest person in real life as I'm reading. Yet ...he doesn't look like the ...bogeyman. I can accept a middle-age Steven Segal as the glimmer man, but I just don't see Keanu like that.

And in the (two) movies his skills aren't so great. Doesn't seem like a meticulous professional. And what a waste of bullets, shooting every goon's head 3-4 times. And pressing the trigger of an ...empty gun in numerous occasions. Can't he tell his gun is empty? I thought counting bullets was a must skill for professional killers...

As a movie is full of clichés. Another "secret" society of killers, with "rules" (meant to be broken) and pseudo-wise characters willing to share their ridiculous wisdom with others. Not to mention the ancient movie tradition where the evil guy doesn't kill the hero when he has the chance, but instead ties him in ...a chair ...in an old warehouse making it so easy for him to escape, while explaining his evil plans.

Yet it seems that the movie has a small but loyal audience. The stuntman director tries to capture some brutal violent moves up close. Long sequences of Reeves shooting foes at point blank is somehow a new trend.

Overall: The otherwise sympathetic Keanu Reeves seems miscasted here. His old pal from the Matrix days Chad Stahelski serves as the director of this typical in premise yet somehow original in the shooting sequences action movie. Not much substance, just stylized action scenes.

I mean. This literally is what is says on the tin. It's jam packed with action and I love it.

The plot is easy to understand and the action shots are brilliant. So much bloodshed, guns, fighting, killing and more guns. Did I mention guns? It's just a nice, easy and fun watch. I recommend watching the first if you haven't already, but yeah I'm impressed by the sequel.

Usually with action sequels it can be a bit dull and repetitive, but this ramps up the action from the first film.

But yeah, 8/10 from me today. Enjoyed my time watching this, I'm going to jump into the third one now.

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!

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.