viewing experience. Like almost always, such spontaneous selections turned out to be a grand time. The original film is an explosive story of revenge and terror by an unlikely Keanu Reeves, in arguably his first successful film since The Matrix. Of course, when John Wick: Chapter 2 was announced, I couldn’t wait. But before I dissect the movie, we’ve got to set some ground expectations.
If you’ve never seen the John Wick movies, here’s what you need to know: the world of John Wick is a pseudo-reality where secret criminal organizations actually run the world. Wick, played by Keanu Reeves, is an assassin formerly employed by the highest circles of the Russian mafia. Over the course of his career, he’s earned a reputation as the ‘Baba Yaga’ (aka the Russian Boogeyman). The message is made clear in both films: nobody messes with Wick and gets out alive. So when Wick steps back from the criminal life, all the criminals leave him alone. Except for when a younger mafia man robs Wick of his car and shoots his dog, thus starting the chain of revenge that makes up the original John Wick movie.
Here’s the thing: you’ve got to walk into these films knowing what to expect. It’s not realistic, it’s not logical, it’s not great writing. The John Wick films are, in many ways, a satire of the most obnoxious action movies. The gunplay is ridiculously improbable, but also features some of the greatest action choreography (I think) that’s ever been made. The characters, while loaded with clichés, are ‘lovable’ with their corny dialogue and overly-dramatic deliveries. Let’s be clear, this is the kind of movie you watch when you don’t want to think too hard, and just want to enjoy some fun, violent eye-candy.
The sequel to the first movie picks up right where the original left off, in a way that makes the combined movies feel like one overarching plot. In the sequel, we get to see some more complexities to the mafia underworld that Wick is trying to escape from. Don’t worry though if you haven’t seen the original – you really don’t have to since the first few scenes of the movie provide plenty of exposition. Everything after that is full of fistfights, car chases, and gunplay. The stunts in the movie are simultaneously intense and stupefying. And there are a few moments in the film that take action movie clichés to the hills – one of my favorites is a particular scene in a crowded subway involving silenced handguns, which you’ll hopefully find as funny and obnoxious as I did.
Simply enough, John Wick: Chapter 2 is a pretty good sequel. I’m hard pressed to say it’s as good as the original, but it also doesn’t have the element of surprise that the original had. It’s definitely worth checking out.
