THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
John Wick caught audiences off guard in 2014 by embracing such creativity with a simple story. After it’s box office success, Lionsgate was not gonna hesitate making themselves a whole new franchise and surprisingly, they haven’t disappointed.
PLOT
Chapter 2 takes place after the titular assassin came out of retirement to avenge his murdered beagle puppy. After getting back his stolen ‘69 Ford Mustang Mach 1, he intends to return to the life of peace he desires. Unfortunately, that does not happen yet when Camorra crime boss Santino D’Antonio requests him for a favor, with use of their blood oath medallion known as a ‘marker’, which they originally created when he helped Wick pull off the last job that allowed him to retire. When Baba Yaga refuses, Santino retaliates by destroying his home with a grenade launcher. Since he and his newly adopted pitbull survive, they take shelter at the Continental Hotel. It is there where Wick accepts his commitment when the hotel’s manager reminds him that it is a rule to the criminal underworld to honor every marker. His task is to assassinate Santino’s sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini) so that the brother can claim her position of council of crime bosses known as ‘The High Table’. He goes to Rome to confront her, but she cuts her wrists, refusing to be assassinated. John then shoots as a mercy, which also fulfills his marker. The trouble doesn’t end for him there when her bodyguard Cassian recognizes him and deduces the reason of his presence. He’s even turned by Santino’s (mute) bodyguard Aries to tie up loose ends. Wick flees through the catacombs and is save to able to halt conflict when reaching the Rome Continental Hotel. Although he explains his actions to Cassian, the latter still intends to avenge his boss. When he returns to New York, Santino continues the charade of avenging his sister by putting a $7million bounty on him. Wick eliminates many assassins that participate in taking the bounty, including Cassian. The ongoing conflict gets him injured, resulting in taking the shelter of another underground crime boss that treats to him, known as ‘The Bowery King’. He chooses to give him only one gun due to being intrigued of him intending to kill a High Table member. Wick is able to chase Santino through an art gala and eliminate his bodyguards including Aries. Despite this, the new member of the Table manipulates his power by claiming to stay in the NY Continental indefinitely. Refusing to give up, Baba Yaga breaks the rule of doing business in the hotel grounds and avenges his betrayal by killing Santino. The consequences of this action result in him being excommunicated with a $14million bounty. With Winston giving him an hour head start, the film ends with Wick taking cover, vowing to kill the High Table.
THOUGHTS
I had low expectations with this one like I did the first time around because it was hard to imagine going any further from what was left off. Nevertheless, David Leitch and Chad Stahelski surprise me once again with what was extra bonkers of an action movie. Thanks to Evan Schiff's incredible editing and fantastic cinematography by Dan Laustsen & Fraser Taggart, they make every shootout/fight sequence as insane as you'd expect and then some. From the concert, to the catacombs, to the subway and to the museum, it's hard to not be impressed with what goes down. Putting that aside, I think the reason viewers are getting a kick out of this one would not just be for being careful of the lore's expansion, but by boldly teaching viewers to be true to to your word and just because you have a right, does not mean it is. This is crystal clear in the shoes of the titular lead, played greatly again by Keanu Reeves. After watching the first film, we want this guy to be left alone, but we only feel bad for him more because he didn't seem to think it through on what would happen if he were to come out of retirement. Of course he never wanted it to be seen that way, but he should've known he left a loose end behind. You can't even blame him for avoiding the marker, because he doesn't want to be back for good. He shed enough blood and the fact that he had to shed even more bothers him deeply. Nevertheless, he still chooses to move forward and fight on knowing that there is still a chance to be at peace again. Of course he put himself in a bigger pickle than he should be in, but it won't intimidate him at all, as he is confident to overcome his greatest obstacle: Everyone. Of course, he wouldn't be in such trouble if not such a despicable crime boss that is the true villain of this chapter. Enter Riccardo Scamarcio, who easily plays Santino so power hungry that he is willing to do anything to be at the top. It made sense for him to pick Wick for the marker because the timing was just right for him. You easily hate this guy for manipulating him to keep the trail going for his benefit. And the fact that he chooses to double cross him when he didn't need to proves how desperate he'll be to stay at the top. You want to be satisfied of him getting killed, but he gets the last laugh when it gets Wick in the worst trouble that puts him in the run of his life. While the rivalry between both men are the selling point of the movie, we still get an array of supporting characters that help make the underground world more intriguing this time around. It was cool seeing Ian McShane again for portraying Winston as much of a loyal friend he was to Wick the first time around. This time, he furthers the bond by trying to being a peacekeeper in hopes to avoid anyone getting in further trouble. He did the right thing giving an hour head start because he deserves a fighting chance if he can't talk his way out of it. And seeing their relationship get tested in Parabellum only gets more surprising from there. I'm normally not crazy about Common when he acts, but he impressed me big time in the role of Cassian. This is a guy who is rightfully stone faced in the life he chose, and has his own set of loyalty towards his employers. All of that made him as formidable as possible when facing Wick. While it makes sense to believe he's dead, I won't bet any money bet. The same can be said with Aries. Ruby Rose impressed me as well because she spoke volumes with her silence. She enjoys her living and won't hesitate taking on anyone to ensure satisfaction for her own employer, which surprised me that even she gave a good fight to Wick. I even enjoyed seeing Franco Nero as Julius who like Winston has respect to the rules of the underworld. It sounds simple because he's not seen much, but even his respect speaks volumes knowing that applies everywhere for everyone. Last but not least, it was a big treat to see Laurence Fishburne join the franchise as The Bowery King. The most fascinating thing about him is that he is the most mysterious of characters thus far. And because of that, he will be the most unpredictable person Wick will ever encounter. You’ll never know what the right thing is to him because he won’t tell you. Wnd when you say it, you’ll be lucky to have him on your side. He may be part of the underground, but he ain’t related for the Continental. Seeing him work at his liking makes him more different than other crime bosses out there. If he’s willing to give you a portion of what you want, be grateful that he even bothers because he doesn’t have to. So seeing him on the page as Wick is the biggest blessing they’ll have because there’s no telling how far things could go for them with similar interests. This movie is better than it should be, but even this one had its issues I couldn’t ignore. Like first off, it’s awesome that John gets his car back, but how did no cop pull him over on the way home? Sure Jimmy wouldn’t mind, but it’s not like everyone is in cahoots with Jimmy. John should’ve gotten pulled over a bunch of times because it’s not like New York is a quiet state. And I’m thrown off on how he walked all the way to the Continental looking like he walks that far regularly. There is no way he nor his dog would be that committed. I’m not saying/asking for showing every second of their walk, but don’t make it look as if it’s normal to do. Like acknowledge they red tired as hell from that walk. And I’ll always enjoy how badass he is shrugging off the bumps he takes, but he should’ve had a broken back from the stairs, including Cassian. I really have a hard time believing they would brush that off no matter how durable they are or how much adrenaline they got. That bothers me more than how he didn’t get a broken legs after being hit by a car. I’m even surprised he didn’t get caught by Cassian when following him and Gianna since he has watching them in a much wide open space. It’s even cool when both men shoot at each other in the train station, but how the hell did no one see that? They started the fight outside, yet no one got alerted inside? That’s gotta be some bullshit for nobody to react as shit hits the fan the way it did. I don’t kid when I say I enjoyed the museum shootout, but I get lost on how many guns Wick uses because you can’t tell how many times he switches them, making it look like the guns carry more bullets than they should without reloading. That’s a big continuity error and I hate that it occurs during the best shootout of the whole movie. Lastly, I thought it was cute for him to find his wife’s bracelet before he goes on the run, but it started to make me think how he should’ve not hid his criminal stash. I know he wasn’t expecting Santino to use the marker on him, but he should’ve his stash as it was after he freed it. Had he done that, he would’ve had extra coins to pay his way into things and at least extra ammo if not extra guns. Ignore this stuff, then you’re still in for a ride. In short, John Wick: Chapter 2 is a hellacious action for boosting up the action while carefully expanding upon lore we never thought would be explored. If you enjoyed the first film, there is no doubt that you’ll like this too.
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