John Wick: Chapter 2

Synopsis: After losing his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan), and then his dog and finally his car (a jet black 1969 Mustang) in the first film of what is now clearly a franchise, retired super-assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) starts his second outing with a new dog, the retrieval of his car and plans to resume a quiet civilian life. Those plans are cut short, though, when Italian gangster, Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) shows up on his doorstep with a gold marker, compelling him to repay past favours. Ordered by Winston (Ian McShane), kingpin of secret assassin society The Continental, to respect the organization's ancient code, Wick reluctantly accepts the assignment to travel to Rome to assassinate D'Antonio's sister, Gianna (Claudia Gerini), in a ploy to topple her as capo of the Italian Camorra crime syndicate. Standing in his way are Gianna’s bodyguard and old rival Cassian (Common), D’Antonio’s mute but muscly right hand girl, Ares (Ruby Rose), and about a thousand anonymous henchmen.

For me, this is one of those films where I have to be careful not to simply react according to my own taste and sensibility, but to view it with its intended audience in mind. Not that I have an aversion to high octane, shoot-em-up, massive-body-count action thrillers, but this one stretches the friendship in terms of its complete disregard for human life and the delight it seems to take in the efficient and choreographically-inventive disposal of copious numbers of anonymous goons. I remember liking this kind of movie when I was a lot younger and even finding the violence to be funny. But the older I get, the more I struggle with it. As I’ve noted, though, I'm probably not the intended audience.  Still, it would be easy to write this off as just a mindless, soulless, cynical exercise in revenge-violence, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there’s (not a lot, but a bit) more going on here.  

At the helm of this sequel is Chad Stahelski, a martial arts expert and former stunt man and the pace of the film is like a martial arts fight; furiously physical and relentless. Nevertheless in many ways it feels stronger than its forebear, John Wick, in terms of character and narrative. And despite its blasé attitude to its brutal killings, it does operate with an underlying cock-eyed moral code that exists between the assassins and a kind of existentialist attitude in their 'professional' approach to their work. It's as though they are already dead and all that remains is to determine the means of that death and whether or not it is a good and honourable one.

Reeves is such a limited actor, something which often detracts from his more dramatic efforts, but here he's playing to his strengths and he does it well. The film really succeeds in making us believe the mythology and legend that surrounds John Wick (partly that’s Reeves on-screen presence and partly it’s confident storytelling). I kept finding myself thinking that Wick must have been in the firmament as long as someone like James Bond. Certainly, that’s the way he’s portrayed and to a large extent the filmmakers pull it off. It’s not unlike the way Kurt Russell portrays Jack Burton in John Carpenter’s 1986 comic action thriller Big Trouble in Little China. It’s the same sense that this character has always been around (although Russell does it better than Reeves).

Where the film succeeds is in its creation of a heightened reality that amplifies what we recognise as the real world and in its use of good old-school style stunt driving that’s not entirely dependent upon CGI.  There are also some nice cameo appearances from John Leguizamo (reprising his role from the first film), Lawrence Fishburne and even Franco Nero. So, on balance I quite liked it, even though I feel that I shouldn't have. And this won’t be the last we see of John Wick. The open ending of the final scene might just as well have been a teaser for Chapter 3.\

So, if you like this kind of movie and you’re happy to suspend your disbelief by the longest bungee rope you can find, and if you don’t mind checking your moral compass at the door, then this franchise could be for you. If not, then I’d run a mile.

FYI: There was indeed a Chapter 3 (2019), and even a Chapter 4 (2023) both directed by Stahelski that delivered more of the same for the party faithful.

 

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