Well, at least we were finally able to see what John can actually do with a no. 2 pencil. John Wick: Chapter 2 is a film that almost seems unnecessary, but, fortunately, ends up building this world quite well. The story is nearly a carbon copy of the story from its predecessor, but thankfully the incredible action and a continually stoic performance from Keanu Reeves keeps this sequel afloat. I am glad that I was finally able to see this installment, as it definitely has built up my anticipation for the next one in a few months, but I was still let down by this film's lack of originality in terms of a script.
John Wick: Chapter 2 starts off directly after the events of 2014's John Wick, as we find our titular hero attempting to get his car back from the Russian gang that stole it from him (AND killed his poor puppy). Accompanied by his new, unnamed dog, Wick ends up taking revenge on Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) after he gets sucked back into the hitman life he so desperately wants to leave. There are multiple good and bad aspects of this type of revenge story. The good include the fact that it is a direct continuation of the first and that it paves the way for some new scenery and locations for this infamous hitman. I really enjoyed how this story picks up directly after the events of the first. This makes for a very smooth transition back into this world and helps the audience really feel for John and the amount of pure bullshit that he keeps having to go through. I also loved how a good portion of this movie took place somewhere besides New York. The Big Apple seems to be a very easy place to write in an action film and I was overjoyed to see a change of pace as Wick traveled to Rome to complete his mission.
The bad aspects of this type of revenge story, however, include the fact that this entire story followed the exact same beats of the first one. The reason why I feel like so many people resonated with the first film in this franchise is that it took a simple plot idea and twisted it just the right amount to keep the revenge trope fresh. Millions of audience members can definitely relate to the pain that John felt when his dog died and this small element of the writing really defined the character, which made the initial film unforgettable. This sequel, however, takes the revenge plot and does absolutely nothing new with it or its main character who we were supposed to ultimately feel for. Sure, we were able to see more of how the secret hitman organization was run and got some new characters for John to face off with, but the story was, unfortunately, painfully dull. At a certain point in this film, I honestly only kept watching because I knew that the action would be exciting, despite this installment not being co-directed by David Leitch and his remarkable fight choreography skills. While John Wick made audiences actually feel for this retired hitman's struggles, this film sadly reverted back to a predictable plot and very minimal development. As for the dialogue, it quickly became annoying hearing John constantly mutter multiple times "yeah, I'm back" or anything along those lines.
Fortunately, pieces of this film that I did love were, of course, the action and the main performance from Keanu Reeves. Wick may be one of the most refreshing action characters of this decade and this second installment definitely continues that tradition. From the concert in Rome to the gruesome scene with the pencil to John running away from dozens of killers in broad daylight (apparently every citizen of New York gets a hit list mass text), the action throughout this movie was fantastic. And Keanu Reeves is definitely the reason for this as well. He still embodies this amazing character even if the writing did not do him (or his new pup) justice. Reeves is the master of this type of role and just like Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible films, knows exactly what he does best and is not afraid to exploit that for pure entertainment.
John Wick: Chapter 2 is a bit of a disappointing sequel to the first, but still impressed me with its use of mesmerizing action and an unforgettable hitman antihero. Despite this film's failure to give anything new to the action genre, I would still absolutely recommend this, especially if you are a fan of this (soon-to-be) trilogy.
My Rating: ★★★½
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