Just as badass as the original, John Wick Chapter 2 is another two hours of Keanu Reeves kicking butt and not letting things like stab wounds, gunshots and sumo wrestler assassins slow him down–all resulting in what will certainly be considered one of the best action movies of the year.
If you were concerned that the original was lightning in a bottle and that a sequel would be just like so many other action sequels–bigger and lamer–don’t be. Chapter 2 is slick, stylish and violent in all the right ways.
The movie does start off a bit rough–returning director Chad Stahelski drops us into the middle of a car/motorcycle chase that results in a bunch of anonymous death as John Wick attempts to retrieve his stolen car, but this re-introduction to the character is so sudden and lacking context it takes a few minutes to figure out what’s going on.
But it doesn’t really matter. That’s the pre-title sequence.
From a plot perspective, John Wick Chapter 2 doesn’t exactly push boundaries–thankfully, his new dog doesn’t get killed this time around–but Stahelski does a good job of expanding his world of assassins while remaining true to what fans want: Keanu Reeves kicking butt and not letting things like stab wounds, gunshots and sumo wrestler assassins slow him down.
Stahelski, working from a screenplay by Derek Kolstad, does the necessary plot-building to get to the good stuff: several long, impressively staged action sequences where John Wick kills people in increasingly creative and brutal ways. The audience audibly gasped and giggled at several of Wick’s brutal takedowns, a clear sign that John Wick Chapter 2 wasn’t just going through the motions.
John Wick Chapter 2 is an absolute blast of a film: exciting, action-packed and fun as hell.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.