Every time he thinks he’s out, they pull him back in! Keanu Reeves’ action starring vehicle “John Wick” ended up being one of the best films of 2014, and three years later, we’re granted what is essentially “The Empire Strikes Back” of the John Wick saga. When John Wick went in to retirement, violence found him once and he wrought unholy vengeance one last time. Now that he’s been a few years in exile, living alone with his trusty pit bull, his past has returned once again. Italian gangster Santino D’Antonio shows up at John’s door aware of his mission of vengeance and now plans to take advantage of a decades old blood oath he made to him when he was working as an assassin. Handing him a very sacred reminder called a “marker” with John’s own blood in it, he plans to hold him to his oath, despite John’s protests.
Angered by John’s refusal, Santino attempts to murder John, obliterating everything he holds dear. Enraged and rising from the ashes once again, John and his pit bull have to once again establish himself in the underground civilization of assassins and is forced to pay his debt. But things don’t go as planned when his target’s bodyguard Cassian (Common) plans payback, along with the dirty D’Antonio. “John Wick: Chapter 2” is heavily centered around world building, and establishing the very covert society that is all around us and functioning on its own system of currency and structures within the city. While the first film gave us a nice glimpse, director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad do a great job on expanding on Wick’s universe, exploring more sub-societies, ideas about pacts, and channels of transportation we can barely comprehend.
Reeves is just as great here as he was in the original, offering a performance as a “The Boogeyman,” “The Baba Yaga,” the mythical Wick who is literally pushed in to a corner and has no choice but to follow through with past debts if he ever hopes to find any kind of peace. But peace seems so painfully out of grasp, as writer Kolstad keeps topping twist after turn of events on top of each other, transforming Wick’s mission, in to a fight for his life that he may not win. Wick is almost always facing someone else’s gun and consistently has to squeeze out of a jam just to make it to square one. The deeper the premise goes, the more we see Wick beholden to the guidelines and rules of his society that might not exactly fit him anymore, if he ever hopes to see any peace. Along with Reeves there is a bang up supporting cast including Ruby Rose as an enigmatic mute assassin, Ian McShane as the mysterious Winston, and Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King, the confidant and potential enemy to Wick.
Writer Kolstad is always at risk of stretching out what could have been a one note sequel, but skillfully develops new layers to the narrative and builds compelling reasons to continue visiting Wick’s blood soaked journey to find peace, and the dark underworld around him that is filled with endless surprises. “Chapter 2” thankfully never feels like a cheap cash in on the original film, extending Wick’s narrative, and making his personal war action packed, blood soaked, and absolutely exciting.