Review of John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) by Thequietgamer — 29 Jul 2017

The first John Wick reminded us just how cool Keanu Reeves can be. With great action and a simple, yet effective plot it left us wanting to see more of Wick in the future. Well ladies and gentlemen, here is the encore we've been waiting for. It's really just more of the same, but given how good John Wick was in the first place that's all it really needed to be. It does go a little beyond what it's predecessor did by upping the body count and by playing around with the rules of John Wick's world. The latter is especially significant because that's something a lot of fans asked for. The extra insight as to what makes life as an assassin tick is much appreciated.

There's a wonderful sense of style to the movie. It's an absolutely gorgeous film. The action is brought to life with spectacular, exciting set-pieces. There are plenty of inventive kills and as a result an almost constant stream of memorable moments. Ruby Rose and Common prove to be very welcome additions to the cast as cool and deadly new rivals for Wick. Common's character in particular is almost like a counterpart to Wick. What with the similar personalities, motives, and skill sets. It makes for some incredible fights. I believe they might have also upped the brutality here as well. Thrown in some extra blood. It makes things more exciting.

If there is one flaw to the action it's that the hand-to-hand combat falls back on the old 'watch our hero flip a guy by his arm' trick too often. Every time Wick finds himself without a gun that is always his fallback move. It's noticeable and a little weird. The gunplay however is flawless, fast, and furious. I can't think of another time where it's been this much fun watching people get shot in the head. There also may be an issue with the actual writing. Personally, I didn't notice this, but one person I know who watched it mentioned how it felt like they had seen it before because they could predict how everything was going to play out in the final third of the film, right down to the dialog. Not a big deal in my opinion either way because of how strong the action is. Besides, it's not like the first John Wick is known for redefining plots fo rthe action movie genre.

If you wanted more John Wick then Chapter 2 will most certainly deliver. It has got some of the most exciting fights and shoot outs around. Plus there is style to spare. With a lot of great side-characters and villains to fill in the world and more details into all these rules Wick must follow, there's new here to go along with the familiar. It's also hard to not like that bit of fanservice included by reuniting Reeves with Laurence Fishburne. It's a return trip worth taking that gives viewers exactly what they were wating to see.