John Wick: Chapter 2

"The man. The myth. The legend. John Wick. You're not very good at retiring."

Filmology Rating: 3.2 out of 4

All John Wick wants to do is retire and leave in peace with his dog. However, circumstances from his past won’t allow this and once again, the Baba Yaga, the man you call to kill the Boogeyman, the world’s best assassin, is forced to come out once again.

I'm not going to lie… I am a huge fan of the first John Wick film. I had big expectations for this sequel because it had so much potential and if it followed suit to the same values and feeling that the first movie had, I knew this could be a great film. I was not disappointed. John Wick: Chapter 2 is what sequels should strive to be.

What made the first film so successful is how it took something so simple, a man pissed off at some thugs for killing his dog (which was a last parting gift from his deceased wife) and wants revenge, and made it into a brilliant film. The story is simple but it’s the way that the story is told and the background stories of who John Wick was in the past is really what made this film stand out. The film that had great emotional appeal, brilliantly directed and choreographed action sequences, an awesome soundtrack, and so much more and Chapter 2 follows up in equal or greater value.

I was hoping that this film would stay true to who John Wick was which is a man wanting to live in peace and to try and escape his dark past. I am so happy to say that yes they still made this the main theme of the film. While I wouldn’t say the emotional appeal is quite as strong in the first film, I do think that it is still very much there. This poor man just wants to grieve and live out a peaceful life and yet his past just won’t let him. I'm glad they still chose to make this a central focus because it makes John Wick relatable and makes us really feel for the guy. While none of us are trained killers like Wick is, we still are able to connect and relate to the guy.

Now let’s talk about this trained killer side of Wick, more specifically the action scenes. Since Chapter 2 is about 30 min longer than the first film, you know they packed in more action sequences and man oh man were they fantastic! What makes the actions sequences so good in these films are that even though the action is constant, it always feels different. The choreography, set design or setting, soundtrack, light and dark aspects, and more, are always changing to make the action feel new and exciting. On top of those qualities, it feels realistic because John Wick is constantly reloading his weapons! Finally we have an action film that realizes there are limits to how much bullets weapons can hold! Not nearly enough action films take this into consideration and when they don't, the film feels fake. John Wick 1 and 2 has always kept this in mind and it really does make the film that much more special and also intense because sometimes he does run out of ammo and needs to use other resources or hand to hand combat to get out of a situation. So once again, the action was phenomenal.

Now being a non-stop action film, there really isn’t a whole lot of dialogue. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though! In this case, and like the first film, when there is dialogue it is very well written and important to the story. The dialogue was actually some of my favorite parts of the movie. Like I said, the action is non-stop and the dialogue and break scenes are a breath of fresh air, a nice change of pace, and offers some great humor as well. This being said, the only thing that I really didn’t care for in this film was one of these dialogues at the end of the film. While being good, it was slightly unbelievable. Don't want to spoil anything so I’ll just leave it at that. It however does not take anything away from the film.

John Wick brought John out of hiding, John Wick: Chapter 2 brought the Baba Yaga back in full force. I loved this film and I can’t wait for what they bring in chapter 3.

Rating: See It

-Nick