John Wick Chapter 2 is essentially the “Empire Strikes Back” of unstoppable badass movies. It’s a film that grows on the world of the first film, that over time will probably be regarded as a better overall work, but at the moment having come out in a time when the first one hit as big and worked as well as it did can’t help but feeling a little bit disappointing. It’s a great action movie, crazy from beginning to end in ways that you can’t even imagine, especially now that the ever expanding world is about to become just that, a world, but there’s a missing sense of freshness to the material. This is understandable. John Wick (three years ago apparently) hit so hard and so fast that it’d be hard to follow up that amount of propulsive action. They have, but there are still moments when the action becomes a bit much and the exposition starts to weigh on the sides of the film. John Wick Chapter 2 starts with John “making peace” with the final member of the Russian gang that he destroyed in the first movie. After this, he is confronted about a blood pact that he must uphold by Italian mob leader, Santino D'Antonio leading into another bloody, bullet-riddled ride. This time around we’ve got Rome, New York City “Most Dangerous Game,” and the making of an assassin’s mythic tragedy. All of that is well and good, in fact, most of it is great, but the extra narrative heft is a little bit sloppy, if not underutilized. The character actors here returning all slip comfortably back into the roles that put them back on people’s radars (Ian Mcshane is one heck of an actor, Laurence Fishburne contributes the best new part of John Wick’s world and Ruby Rose, well she’s just cool), but they’re serviced with more exposition heavy dialogue. This is where the movie starts to feel less effortless. If anything, the flaw of John Wick 2 is that it doesn't feel as effortless, and therefore the actual flow of the movie is unable to match the actual method and view of the character in battle. The film slows down for a long stretch where John must first refuse the blood pact and then complete it. These moments are all beautifully executed and designed and it pays off in a crazy death scene that all but gives into the fact that these movies know they’re schlock, but there’s some yearning for the pieces to fit together as well as the fight scenes do. John is a bit less capable now too, which does help equal out the way the flow of the movie is a little weaker. Effectively, Keanu (If you don’t know who I’m talking about then...why are you reading this) seems be having a lot more difficult time beating up the guys, which makes the action just as awesome, but also a bit strained. The added on weakness does make the fights more suspenseful, but it also makes them exhausting. Having seen John Wick, we’ve seen what John can do, and the added exhaustion does add to the aesthetic but is also tiresome. This does mean that three-fourths into the movie, though, one can be a bit burnt out on the action no matter the quality. All of it is pretty damn great, though, with the new elements of the world leading into a tragic and devastating ending that makes for something like a mythic storyline filled with fear, and revelation. John Wick is “The Boogeyman,” a literal myth, so the only way to dress him down and kick him out is to truly break him, and John Wick 2 feels like a dry run for just that. I won’t spoil the inner mechanics of the story, but to say the least, as the credits started to roll, there was a wave a sadness and fear running over me. If you’re a fan of the original, don’t expect John Wick Chapter 2 to feel quite as good as that one did when it first came out, but take it for what it is. A marvelously choreographed, gory action film, that deserves to be held up with Keanu Reeves best. This one, I hope will age like the aforementioned “Empire Strikes Back” where over time, it becomes the darker more complex middle sister to a trilogy of unstoppable badass movies. Here’s to John Wick Chapter 3. I give John Wick Chapter 2 an 8 out of 10.
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December 2017
CategoriesAuthorHello welcome to FilmAnalyst. My name is Stephen Tronicek, and I really like movies. This is a way to get my opinions out to people. Thank you for visiting. |