John Wick chapter 2

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John Wick Chapter 2 is the follow-up to the 2014 neo-noir action thriller, John Wick, and just to get this out of the way- this sequel does not disappoint. I'm not going to get too much into the plot, because it's so much better to take this journey without knowing too much. That being said...

This flick starts with a bang right out of the gate as we are treated to an awesome scene involving John getting his car back. It's really cool, and one hell of a way to start the movie. After this, the fallout from the first film seems to be settling, and John begins to ease into the concept of retirement. Fate, it would seem, is not without a sense of irony, as Johns present and past are soon to collide, and he unwillingly finds himself between the proverbial rock and hard place.

...and that's all I'm saying plot-wise. Now, on to a quick dissection...

This is a sequel that manages to sustain the tone and pacing of the prior film, and improve on it in a modest way that doesn't come across as being 'overboard'. It dialed it up a notch, and it worked; the stunt work and action was absolutely amazing. In case you were wondering- yes, Keanu is still a badass. While the motivation may not be emotionally rooted this time around, I enjoyed seeing John dealing with repercussions of his first-movie actions, and how it was used even more so as backstory, and expands upon the assassin cabal introduced via the Continental established in the first flick.

Lawrence Fishburn's character was a great use of both world-building and some backstory on John's past. Ruby Rose as Ares was a new character I enjoyed; a looming specter that always had John looking over his shoulder. Common's Cassian was another new addition to the John Wick world that I enjoyed; his fight scene with John is easily one of the most brutal one-on-one fight scenes, ever.

This brings me to another thing I loved about this movie- there are montages in two parts of this movie that work wonderfully in terms of time/content suppression, and I enjoyed the hell out of both of them as a writer that found this brilliant approach to work very well. Instead of watching scene A, then B then C, in tandem, they're woven together and as opposed to watching a series of scenes, you watch them at the same time. It skips over needless time-devouring exposition, and it lends a lot to the pacing, and as far as this method and it's application to fight scenes- it is really, really cool to watch. There was one bit in particular that I feel I can safely assume will be talked about a lot, that was some truly glorious fan-service that had the theater I was in cheering.

Easily my favorite scene in the movie, that takes place within an art exhibit consisting of a labyrinth of mirrored surfaces and neon lights, was a noticeable homage to one of my favorite movies, Enter the Dragon. It is hands down one of the coolest action scene set pieces I have ever seen. Absolutely amazing.

If you enjoyed the first movie, I think you can rest assured that you'll enjoy the sequel. I know I did.

And I can't wait for chapter 3.

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