After they stole his car and killed the dog his dead wife left him (the only things he had left to love), would-be-retired assassin John “The Boogeyman” Wick (Keanu Reeves) has to go back to work, if only to tidy up loose ends in the name of vengeance.
Unfortunately, those loose ends are attached to parties both known and unknown to Wick, who have a vested interest in Wick’s work continuing.
To find his way back to retiring will require reproving why he’s the best of the best.
We say, “John Wick owns action cinema.”
TAYLOR: I’m a fan of the films of Sergio Leone. Most people have at least heard of his western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but I think his best is Once Upon a Time in the West. These films usually featured characters that were neither good nor bad. If they were bad guys, it was because they would kill dishonourably, for instance, by shooting a fella in the back.
The John Wick films remind me of those films, those characters, that imaginary world where you look your adversary in the eye and say, “I’m very sorry, but I’m going to have to kill you now.”
HOWE: I wasn’t a fan of the first chapter. I think I may have given it a 1.5 or something. I thought the concept of the dog getting killed and the stolen car was a little far-fetched. So with this coming up, I watched it again. Yes, it’s still a stupid concept. Going into Chapter Two, I didn’t have high hopes for it. I was wrong. The concept is still as silly as ever, but I thought this was a tighter, cleaner movie with a very good storyline. There’s the cheese factor; there is blood splatter everywhere, and yes the fight scenes are over the top. But saying all that, I really enjoyed myself.
TAYLOR: I think the Wick films are the best action film series currently on the market. The fighting in this film is ridiculous, over the top, bullets flying, acrobatics, jiu jitsu, you name it. The fisticuffs between Common (the rapper turned actor) as the assassin Cassian (say that 10 times fast) and Reeves are phenomenal, memorable, and respectable. Also, as Reeves is so skilled at (at least faking) martial arts and what not, being able to just point the camera at them is enough. The audience isn’t subjected to a million cuts, disturbing the flow of action.
John Wick owns running around killing people and he looks good doing it. I’m already anticipating the third installment, John Wick: Last Assassin Standing (Say That Ten Times Fast).
HOWE: I know what you mean. I think this is the first time in a long time that I didn’t want a film to finish and I too can’t wait for the next sequel. The last time that happened in an action movie was Jack Reacher. The problem with that was, where I loved the first Reacher movie, the second one was terrible.
Howe gives John Wick: Chapter Two 4 markers out of 5.
Taylor gives it 4 more poor decisions out of 5.