Review: John Wick Chapter 2
John Wick: Chapter 2 is pedal to the metal from the get-go. With an economy of exposition that other franchise directors would do well to replicate, the excellent follow-up to 2014's surprise hit reminds audiences why its title hero is the man, the myth, the legend, the assassin that all other assassins fear. Before the title credits appear, Keanu Reeves' Wick has chased, been chased, crashed his beloved 1969 black Mustang into numerous Russian mobsters, been crashed into and thrown from his car, and engaged in several bone-crushing beatdowns before brokering a truce with Peter Stormare's Abram, uncle to the nephew who killed Wick's dog, setting off the events in the first film that resurrected the retired killing machine.
Though not intended to be a franchise, the first film had smartly established a well-defined yet mysterious world, with the Continental and its namesake hotel as its niftiest creations. A fraternity of stylishly clad killers bound to a gentleman's code, the New York chapter is revealed to be but one part of an international organisation. The Continental takes its rules very seriously and two, in particular, are sacrosanct: "No blood on Continental grounds" and "Every marker must be honoured." The former is often the cause for the film's most amusing moments as hardcore killers suddenly have to behave like civilised men with one another, often mere moments after they have been pummeling each other senseless. The latter serves as Chapter Two's narrative engine.
Wick has been re-retired for all of a couple of hours when he's pulled back into the life by Italian crime heir Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scarmacio, whose delightful Eurosmarm suggests he might have lived a previous life as a Caravaggio rent boy), who had helped Wick pull off the "impossible task" that allowed Wick to break from the organisation and live a happy life with his now-deceased wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan, seen in flashbacks). Now Santino wants to call in his marker by having Wick assassinate his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini) so that he can rightfully claim his place as the head of the Camorra family at the High Table, a council of international super-assassins. "I'm not that guy anymore," Wick demurs. "You're always that guy," Santino responds and ensures that Wick is forced to be that guy by burning down his house after Wick refuses the job.
If the motivation for Wick to revive his homicidal tendencies is less compelling here than it was in the first film, it's offset by an even more relentless barrage of action scenes that returning director Chad Stahelski directs with impressive panache. The action scenes are staged against starkly white subway stations accented by fuchsia fluorescent tubes; the tunnels of a Roman catacomb lit by gauzy blue spotlights and epileptic emanations from flashlights; and an elaborate hall of mirrors museum exhibit that takes its influence from Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai, amongst other films. A former stuntman, Stahelski has a superb understanding of how to stage within a space and the hand-to-hand combat and gunfire are often executed in frighteningly close proximity. In many respects, this is the first person shooter film that Hardcore Henry aspired and failed to be.
As with the first film, Stahelski finds moments amidst the combat to insert humour, whether it be Wick pinning down an opponent as he reloads his weapon, Wick and Common's Cassian throwing each other and rolling down a ridiculously long flight of Roman steps, he and Cassian sneaking muffled gun shots at each other in a crowded train station, or the montage that reveals exactly how extensive the Continental's reach is as Wick encounters an assassin seemingly around every corner once a bounty is put on his head.
Chapter Two ends on a chilling note that stokes anticipation for a sure-to-be third film. Wick appears to have nowhere to hide and no one to trust, but he makes a promise that he is sure to keep: he will kill any and all comers. And we will be there to enjoy the bloodbath.
John Wick: Chapter 2
Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Written by: Derek Kolstad
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Common, Laurence Fishburne, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ruby Rose, John Leguizamo, Ian McShane, Bridget Moynahan, Lance Reddick, Thomas Sadoski, David Patrick Kelly, Peter Stormare, Franco Nero, Peter Serafinowicz
