REVIEW: John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

I remember going to the cinema to watch it not knowing too much about it, only that it was rated R and that it looked cool.  After the movie ended I was pleasantly surprised by how much it kicked ass and how cool it was to see Keanu Reeves back in full action mode kicking ass once again. During the 1980s and early to mid-90s we action movie fans got our fair share of testosterone-fueled action films. These days not so much. Times sure have changed, so when I saw this “John Wick” film I was really happy that we got an old-school R-rated action movie like we used to back in the day all the time.

The movie however was not without it’s share of critics. Obviously in an era when so-called men complain that Ben Affleck’s Batman was too fucking rough and that they actually prefer “The Lego Batman Movie” this type of criticism was to be expected. One of the main criticisms the first movie received was Wick’s motivation for going on a revenge tour. Many felt that the murder of a dog was not good enough of a reason to go on a rampage. I completely disagree. I wished Tom Hanks would have embarked on such a rampage when they killed Hooch in “Turner & Hooch”!

Those of us that have been lucky and privileged to have felt the love & the loyalty of a dog, know that this is as good of a reason as any. There are rules in life and one of those rules is that you don’t fuck with a man’s dog, especially when that dog belongs to John Wick and the dog was a gift from his beloved departed wife.

I like the movie “John Wick” a lot. So I was really happy when they announced they were going to make a sequel. I went to see “John Wick chapter 2” on opening night and I’m happy to report that in my humble opinion, the movie does not only match the first one but it is actually a much better movie. That’s right, I think “John Wick chapter 2”  is a better movie than chapter 1. One of the things that often happens in Hollywood is that when they make a sequel they don’t want to rely too much on the previous installment or installments because when they market the film, they wanna tell the movie-going public that they don’t need to have seen the previous ones in order to enjoy this latest film. That this a standalone movie and they can enjoy for what it is.

However here this is not the case. You can watch both John Wick movies back-to-back and it feels like one long movie.

The movie starts with John Wick trying to find the car that was stolen from him in the previous movie. The movie starts with the action right away. Turns out the brother of the Russian mobster of the first movie has the vehicle and of course John Wick does everything he can to get it. Let’s just say lots of Russians get killed. The movie starts with a bang.

But as he’s trying to settle back into his life with his new dog that he rescued at the end of the last movie another gangster from his past shows up at his door. This one belongs to the Italian mafia. As you might recall in the first one, when John Wick wanted out of the “The Life”, they gave him what it was thought of as an impossible task to complete. If he completed this task he got his freedom, which he did. In this movie however it was revealed that he needed help from this mobster in order to get that job done & now that mobster needs him to do a job in Italy and he forces Wick to do so. During the first movie we got to see the Continental Hotel and that it was a hotel for assassins and what rules they had & so forth. Here they go deeper into that aspect of the story and it does not disappoint, it’s a pretty cool.

And on this day and age, where everything it’s “movie universes”, I can definitely see how they can expand on this universe by making spin-off films.

As one might expect, once in Italy there is a double cross. From that moment forward it feels that it’s John Wick versus everybody. Rapper turned actor Common plays one of John Wick’s nemesis. The character he portrays here is very similar to the character he portrays in the manly movie “Run All Night”. Him and Keanu have some good scenes together. Ruby Rose, the most in-demand heavily tattooed lesbian in Hollywood right now, is also in the movie. If she annoys you, don’t worry,  she plays a mute in the film.

“John Wick chapter 2” is action packed. If you enjoyed the first one I see no reason why you wouldn’t enjoy the second one. Keanu Reeves has been in movies since the 80s. The dude has made some good movies over the years and I happen to think he’s a bit underrated and I have to say that he has never kicked as much ass as he does in this role. The man is walking manly genocide. The mofo kills people like he was raised in “Cannon films Academy for Boys”.

So good news guys, “John Wick Chapter 2” kicks ass. I’m ready for Chapter 3.