JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 – Review

Well, how about that? Here’s another follow-up to a surprise 2014 smash. But this flick is so different from toy block caped crusaders. Still, it’s somewhat of an over-the-top crazy cartoon. Just one that’s not for the kiddies. THE MATRIX trilogy firmly established Keanu Reeves as an offbeat action star. Most of his flicks often had a science fiction/fantasy bent. Three years ago, he was part of a new action extravaganza that would be the ultimate gritty revenge story. That’s the original JOHN WICK in a nutshell. A trying-to-quit ex-super assassin calls upon his old skills when his beloved companion is brutally murdered. Some thugs did in his puppy, so now they must pay. The score seemed to be settled then by the final fade-out. So what new mayhem will be revealed in JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2? Well, he sure hasn’t mellowed in those three years.
The film truly begins with a bang (and a crash) as Mr. Wick (Reeves) takes on an army of goons in order to retrieve another beloved companion, this time a classic “muscle car”. A battered and bloody Wick returns to his lush, modern home far away from the city. There’s no rest in store when he gets a visit from underworld kingpin Santino (Riccardo Scamarcio). He produces an ornate old coin and says that Wick owes him a favor. This debt can only be repaid if Wick goes back to work and eliminates Santino’s mob rival, his sister. Wick refuses and shuts the door on him. Then Santino produces a mini rocket-launcher and levels the Wick estate. John heads back into the city, where the manager of the hit-man hide-away the Continental, Winston (Ian McShane) advises him to honor his debt. After a sit-down with Santino, Wick heads to Rome where he orders a new suit (bulletproof, naturally) and several new “tools” (a mini-arsenal). His intended target, Gianna (Claudia Gerini) is guarded by an army of protectors. led by Wick’s old adversary and rival Cassian (Common). After the job is down, Wick is pursued by Cassian and his men. But the big surprise is when Santino puts out a $7 million bounty on Wick. Returning to NYC, assassins pop up everywhere, eager to collect that reward. After getting some help from an underground mastermind, the Bowery King (Laurence Fishbourne), Wick’s on a mission to even the score with the double-crossing Santino.

Amazingly Reeves is more somber and stoic than he was in the previous installment. In that film he conveyed a real sense of loss, with grief overwhelming Wick, turning into almost a flesh and blood (lots of it) “action figure”. Here, after facing the GODFATHER III turmoil (“Everytime they pull me back in!”), we see him as the hunter, then for the last act, the hunted. But Wick’s not super-human as Reeve sells every grimace, literally becoming the walking wounded. McShane is the ultimate sophisticate with a secret, just as suave as in the previous film, keeper of the rules that govern the lawless. He’s judge and enforcer. Common is a most fearsome opponent for Wick, his Cassian is just as single-minded and ruthless. Scamarcio is smooth and sinister as the cold-blooded Santino, a back-biting snake in a high-priced silk suit. Gerini, in her brief scenes as his sister, is almost the flip side of the coin, a surprisingly sympathetic tragic character resigned to her faith. Keanu’s MATRIX co-star Fishburne appears to enjoy “chewing the scenery” as the booming Bowery King. He’s Fagin, Moriarty, and Dr. Mabuse rolled into one flamboyant package. Ruby Rose is quite compelling as the mute leader of Santino’s hit squad, while John Leguizamo provides some much-needed comic relief as Wick’s auto repair ace (he’s kept busy).
Returning director Chad Stahelski keeps the action rolling at a very brisk clip, although he lets us catch our breath while Wick converses with Winston and Santino before embarking on (hopefully) his final “job”. But fans of the first film will want to know if it’s just as brutally violent as the first one. Oh yes, perhaps more. Endless streams of thugs and goons emerge from every shadow, sometimes throwing a kick, a punch, or a knife. But always with lots of gunplay. I was reminded of the Fearless Fosdick character from Al Capp’s comic strip “Li’l Abner” who would leave dozens of “swiss-cheese” bodies in his wake while arresting a “jay-walker”. This is true overkill, with the volume turned well past eleven. And of course, Wick’s signature move is back. He never leaves his enemies writhing in pain, he ventilates their noggins before he moves on. This is repeated so often that we almost become numb, despite eliciting some nervous laughter. Like one of those “first-person shooter” computer games. Fans of such entertainment will more than get their money’s work, while others can admire the precision and skill of Reeves and a platoon of superb stunt artists (some of the set pieces are choreographed as well as anything in LA LA LAND). For fans of high-octane action and Mr. Reeves, JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 is a big bloody bookend to the original.

3.5 Out of 5