John Wick (2014) was a hard act to follow. An action film at its finest, the first entry in the series showed audiences across the world that you don’t need grime on the lens and shaky cam to make an action scene. Clean shots, interesting settings and, above all, beautifully choreographed fight sequences are what made John Wick fantastic, and they’re what make its sequel just as good, but not quite better.
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) follows John as, after the events of the first film, he attempts to return to his previous retired life, only to be dragged back into the mysterious assassin underworld by an old acquaintance.
Chapter 2 ups the ante with huge fight scenes, dynamic settings and very nearly kills John Wick so many times that I have no idea how he will survive the inevitable sequel. Perhaps he won’t; that would be interesting.
While not quite as lacking in the narrative department as the first film, John Wick: Chapter 2 does little to push the story along other than give John more people to kill. Many might say this is what holds the film, and its predecessor, back from being excellent but I disagree. If you want slow, go watch There Will Be Blood (2007).
However, if you want simple, stark cinematography and fight choreography that feels more like ballet than people shooting lots of other people, then this is the film for you. These are films that know what they do well, and they focus on it. To the point that it’s almost exhausting. In fact, there is so much action packed into John Wick: Chapter 2 that it’s almost a detriment, as the film reaches the point of struggling to find new and interesting ways for John Wick to kill more and more people.
There is more substance to this film, however, and the curtain is pulled back on more of the shadowy underworld of assassins we glimpsed in the first film, with its gold coin currency and secret hotels around the globe. While this doesn’t really add much to the film except filler between excellent fight after excellent fight, it is an interesting world and one I hope to see expanded further in the eventual sequel.
John Wick: Chapter 2 is as much of a thrill ride as the first film and, though it doesn’t quite match up to the relentless brutality of John Wick, it adds enough into the franchise to make it a worthwhile addition and has me excited for a third instalment.
Tom Hogarth 