User Reviews

No doubt about it, "John Wick: Chapter 2" is a slick action thriller, but man, oh man, how can any one person absorb that kind of punishment? John (Keanu Reeves) gets shot, stabbed and hit by cars multiple times and postures a limp now and then to indicate he might have gotten just a little bit hurt. Besides that, he almost never makes a wrong move when hunted by dozens of assassins all at the same time. Okay, I get it, Reeves is the star of the picture and has to come out on top, but I'd like a little more credibility put into these kinds of stories. But I guess that's the whole point, suspend your disbelief for a couple of hours and just go with all of the over the top action the film makers can put together.

I do have to say that the opening scene of the brightly lit downtown Manhattan cityscape was about the finest cinematography you can hope to come up with just about anywhere. The picture maintained that same high level of consistency with the sleek settings and the richly detailed environs of The Continental. I also like the entire idea of this particular mob having a code that's inviolate, even for someone like Wick who crossed the line by taking out Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) on Continental grounds. Ian McShane's Winston had a nice way of putting things in perspective for Wick to show him that the repercussions weren't going to be personal. After all, rules are rules.

My favorite scene was the hit on Gianna D'Antonio (Claudia Gerini), not so much for the bullet to her head, but for the way she took control to demonstrate she would die on her own terms and not her brother's. That was really quite a remarkable and original scene that makes the film more memorable for me than it otherwise might have been.

Anyway, for a film with a cast of thousands who are either hit men or getting killed themselves, this is quite the adrenaline rush. Again, I emphasize that if that's what you want when you come to a picture like this, then Wick Two delivers in spades. And with the unequivocal ending, Wick 3 ought to escalate the body count exponentially.

Its like you have second date with a girl, you don't want to lose, so next you take her somewhere better, more expensive, but the girl wants to be comfy and not to feel, you want impress her with the money and place. Yes, chapter II is in the same waters like first part. But in this movie, there are some bit boring sequences like that with Fishburne and maybe more for some individuals. Actions sequences here are beautifully done, story is basic and finale is adequate. all of this is dona by the same formula. Only ONE BETTER thing for me is characters. Thanks to larger scale, there are new players and are pretty good to watch. Non-talking woman and Common - both are very very watchable and add new dimensions. They are more attractive than (still very good) Dafoe in first part. I am music man but i don't remember any catchy hook or loop in terms of soundtrack. Little bit sad from directing the end. SPOILER: When Wick is running away in very last shot, the angle of camera should have been closely to his face, not to take large scale. It would be much better and more dramatic if we could some expressions in his face, like for the first time - fear for example... END of SPOILER: Overall - funny to watch, classy, more expensive.

I have to say after seeing "John Wick" in the cinema almost 3 years ago I had high expectations on the sequel. I have watched the first part about three more times now and it never became boring. My fear for this sequel was that they couldn't get a good start into the new story. With a few similarities that chapter 2 shared with first one this could have been a huge let down. But god damn... this movie started strong and oddly enough it started in a way that I didn't even think about. I wouldn't say that the scenes were predictable just because they were so different from all the other action movies I have seen. This movie remains serious, whilst brilliantly combining dry humor with extreme graphic and violent images. If you have watched this movie you will remember this one scene... this one scene that you just can not get out of your head sheer to it's immense (and freaking awesome) brutality. "John Wick Chapter 2" is like a "Kingsman: The Secret Service" that even though being funny, manages to stay serious throughout the entire 2 hours. It doesn't seem too long nor too short and strikes a good balance between action sequences and story telling. In comparison to the first one though Chapter 2 does not seem as realistic. John Wick was a killer I thought could actually exist in real life after watching the first movie. That was the reason I and I think many other loved that film so much. Chapter 2 does lose some of it's credibility due to a few action sequences. Remember, I am not talking about a Fast and Furious like action scene here. This is criticism on a whole new level. "John Wick: Chapter 2" went beyond my expectations and is in my opinion better than the first one. Go watch this movie in the cinema if you liked the part one. If you haven't seen the prequel I would recommend you to catch up just because it's so good. Though it is not actually necessary to follow and enjoy the story of Chapter 2. I hope this review was helpful to some of you who couldn't decide whether to watch this film in the cinema or wait for the Blu-Ray and DVD release. Go to the cinema your money will be spend wisely. 8/10

Sin 1: Tossing out established canon.

The coolest bit of lore about the first movie is completely lost in the sequel. That alone is a sin you cannot redeem yourself for. In the original, it was established canon that John Wick was not a man to mess with. Even the main villain, respected and feared his abilities.

In John Wick 2, however, all of that is gone. Nobody fears John Wick. Nobody is afraid to take him on. His past deeds and reputation mean absolutely squat.

The new villain, never thinks twice about double crossing Wick. Every hit-man on the planet, and according to this movie they are every where, has no qualms about trying to take Wick out.

Sin 2: No main character growth In the first movie, we travel along with Wick as he avenges his dog and in the end moves forward with his grief. The video of his wife tells him to get up and move on. In John Wick 2, there is zero character growth. He is no different at the end of the movie as he is when it starts. Sure his circumstances have been altered, but as a character he has overcome nothing. That makes for a boring story.

Sin 3: Weak plot The original movie had a simple, but strong plot. Revenge. The plot of the sequel is weak, even by action movie standards. Wick has been called into service to kill a criminal, if he refuses he dies... but wait if he accepts, he also dies. The whole movie could have started and ended with the original premise of refusing the contract. It would have made more sense to refuse the contract and fight off the baddies coming to enforce the blood oath.

Sin 4: Video Game Bad Guys Wow. There is evidently a plethora of John Wick cannon fodder. They just keep coming, and there really is no logical reason why they do. The body count is so high that it becomes comical. The original had a big body count, but it was divided among 5 big action scenes and, for an action movie, seemed plausible. This one doubles the body count but there are so many, the coolness of each kill is lost in an over abundance of victims.

Sin 5: Invincible Superhero Hit by two cars, stabbed and shot numerous times and he just keeps on going. Must be seeing the doctor and getting pain pills, right? Nope no doctors in this one. That kind of logical realism may interfere with the killing of cardboard bad guys. At one point a fellow assassin, holds a pistol point blank in Wick's abdomen and fires a couple shots through him. No biggie Wick has another 42 bad guys to kill.

Sin 6: James Bond Gadgets I love the Continental, don't get me wrong, but the secret underground hit-man hosting hotel just goes too far in this one. Bulletproof suit coats that can be held up like Batman's cape to shield yourself from bullets? Silencers so quiet that two adversaries can have a shootout in a subway between bystanders and nobody knows even though bullet holes are being blasted into the walls around them?

Sin 7: Shallow Villains Yes there are the 140 plus cardboard video game baddies, but in the first John Wick, the main villain had a moral dilemma: turn over his son to save his own butt. The bad guys in Wick 2 have no interesting character motivation or dilemmas. The closest you get is Common's desire for revenge after Wick kills his client. And that was the most interesting bad guy on the screen. It is hard to believe the two movies were written by the same folks.

Sin 8: Soundtrack John Wick 1 had an unbelievable soundtrack that actually set the mood as he moved through the action scenes and the emotional scenes. This soundtrack just plain sucks. There is nothing memorable in it, and it does little to impart any emotion on a given scene.

Sin 9: Pacing Even the big action scenes in this movie are too long. In their desire to up the body count they went with longer action sequences. It really messes with the pace of the film. The first movie did a great job of dividing the action and keeping the viewer engaged. The longer these scenes go, the less believable they became which pulls the audience out of the moment.

Sin 10: Rehashing things that worked in the first movie There are some great scenes in the first Wick, and the director knew that so they tried to repeat them. This is a classic sequel mistake and unfortunately Wick 2 falls victim to this trope. You liked the interaction with Jimmy? We will get another one in there. Like the reload and kill? We will put a twist on that one also. It was great to see the pencil kills, that is how it should be done. Don't show us the same thing but different. Show us new, that may have been mentioned previously.

Making the next sequel look better then this one. The end of this movie sets up a very interesting plot for a third movie and almost everyone that walked out was excited to see it. That is wonderful, except when that movie actually sounds more interesting then the one you just watched. You should have just made that movie instead.

All in all Wick 2 falls short of the first one. Once again we are treated to an amazing movie whose sequel just doesn't capture the magic of the first one. I'm looking at you Red 2, Donnie Darko 2, Matrix 2, etc...