'JOHN WICK : CHAPTER 2' which I saw earlier this week tells the ongoing story of the hirsute hitman character of John Wick as played by Keanu Reeves who first burst onto our screens all guns blazing in 2014 and proved to be a critical success, whilst grossing US$89M off its US$20M budget. It was therefore inevitable that a sequel would follow, and now in 2017 our titular forced out of retirement assassin seeking vengeance and dispensing his own kind of justice down the barrel of a gun, is back. Keanu Reeves reprises the role he so successfully made his own from the get-go, and Director Chad Stahelski is back in the chair with this film that saw its initial release in the US in early February and here in Australia only on the 18th of this month. The film has so far made US$167M from its US$40M budget and has received much critical praise.
Set four days following the end of the first film, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) has tracked down his prized 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 to a warehouse chop-shop where various criminal underworld activities are ongoing overseen by Russian gangster Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare) whose brother Viggo and his son Iosef were both killed by John in the first film.
As John fires up the engine to his beloved vehicle, all manner of heavies quickly come out of the woodwork, and a kinetic car chase is on for one and all that culminates back in the warehouse where it all started with John taking out each and every one, before bursting in on Tarasov, who can only shake his head in disbelief. John siddles up to Tarasov, words unspoken, pours them both a neat glass of vodka, toasts peace between them, and walks away, sparing the Russian's life. He gets back into his now heavily trashed Ford Mustang and drives home.
Back home John attempts to settle back down to a quiet life of retirement. But his best laid plans are thwarted when he is visited by Italian gangster Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) who presents John with a 'Gold Marker' which binds him via a never to be broken blood oath to an earlier commitment for a past favour granted. There is clearly some history between the two gentlemen as they have done 'business' together in the past which enabled John to retire to marry Helen (Bridget Moynahan, in flashback only) but now D'Antonio wants his payback. John refuses, saying that those days are behind him, he's retired, and he's not that man anymore. This doesn't sit well with D'Antonio who is holding the Marker with John's bloodied thumb print inside it. The two part company, but before driving away D'Antonio promptly blows John's home to pieces using a grenade launcher - John is blown clear out of the house and his new best friend, the dog with no name escapes unhurt too, but John's luxury home is totalled.
In Rome, John's checks into the Continental Hotel there, managed by Julius (Franco Nero) and then sets about suiting up and tooling up, using all the specialist suppliers of custom made bullet proof tailored suits and hitman special weapons that a gold coin or six can buy. He then infiltrates Rome's catacombs to get close to Gianna's celebration party, and confronts her alone, stating that he is there to complete his Mark as ordered by her brother. Rather than die unexpectedly at the hands of another, she chooses to die her own way, committing suicide. After she has passed, John fires a single point blank shot into her head and walks away. 
Whilst retreating back through the labyrinth of underground tunnels, John is ambushed by D'Antonio's henchmen and Ares, wanting to tie up those loose ends. Needless to say it will take more than a few dozen heavily armed heavies to dispense with a well prepared bullet proof suit wearing tooled up arse kicking John Wick. Just when he thought he was in the clear, Gianna's personal bodyguard Cassian (Common), having discovered her limp lifeless body, comes out seeking revenge having seen John earlier at the party and asked if was 'working'. They fight on the streets of Rome late at night in a savage close quarter kicking, punching, gouging, knifing and shooting fight eventually crashing through a window into the Reception of the Rome Continental Hotel, which also allows no 'business' to be conducted on its grounds. Under strict compliance of the rules, the pair share a drink in the bar, and John tells Cassian who ordered the hit on Gianna and that he had no choice. Cassian swears revenge for her death, and leaves to fight another day, having paid for the drink 'out of professional courtesy'.
Following her death Santino places a US$7M bounty on the head of John as a smoke screen to avenge her death leading every assassin in New York to come out to kill John and claim the reward. John dispenses with the attacks of several assassins, but Cassian is once again on his tail, and confronts John in the subway. They board a crowded subway train and maintain their distance until the next stop when the passengers disperse leaving them access to each other while the remaining passengers look on in disbelief as their fight breaks out within the confines of the subway carriage. John overpowers Cassian, pushing a knife into his aorta and sitting him down on a seat, stating that if he pulls the knife he will bleed out and quickly, and that 'out of professional courtesy' he let him live.
Injured and running out of options John seeks out an underground crime lord that John had previously taken a hit on, but who he also let live, albeit with a potentially life threatening injury, The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburn, in their first screen pairing since 'The Matrix' trilogy). After exchanging social niceties, The Bowery King reluctantly agrees to help John and leads him to D'Antonio's whereabouts armed with a revolver and a magazine containing seven rounds only.
Here John confronts D'Antonio and his several dozen henchmen with Ares who are all on hand to protect their leader. After more close quarter gun fighting in which heads explode with gushes of the crimson stuff against marble white walls, culminating in a dizzying bevy of fist fights and gun battles in a hall of mirrors, John overcomes Ares who stays behind allowing D'Antonio to flee to The Continental, and safe harbour. John tracks his quarry to the Hotel, where D'Antonio is very self assured that John will abide by the strict rules of the Hotel, and that he can stay indefinitely in very comfortable surroundings. John needless to say has very different ideas.
The next day, Winston sends for John, and explains that the High Table at which Gianna and subsequently Santino sat for a very brief time, has doubled the bounty on John's head and issued it globally. Winston also advises that John is now considered 'excommunicado' from The Continental, and in so being loses all special privileges and access to the resources of the underworld that he has hitherto enjoyed and taken advantage off. He is out on his own in the world, with every assassin in the known universe now hot on his tail. Winston however, gives him a one hour head start before the bounty goes live, and in so doing hands him a Marker for his future use should he ever need it. As John races through the streets of New York on foot with his trustee no name dog bounding beside him, John hears mobile phone messages sounding all around him, as hitmen & women are alerted to John's new status.
'John Wick : Chapter 2' is a frenzied frenetic feast of bullet ballet gun-fu, that raises the body count over a number of very well choreographed action set pieces, whilst providing some clarity surrounding the mythology of the story. This is exactly what you would expect and more from the first instalment, ramping up with a high octane opening car chase in New York somewhere, to an intense and perhaps overly long underground gun battle in the ancient city of Rome, back to the streets and subway of New York, for the final showdown in a city Museum. Director and former stuntman Stahelski, who has worked with Reeves before on 'The Matrix' series, has a keen eye for big screen inventive action and he pulls out all the stops here to deliver a thrill ride that is exciting, at times humorous, well acted by Reeves who carries the whole film on his shoulders, and by McShane and Common especially. John Wick is a man of few words, and he too comes off a little worse for wear, proving that he is not infallible suffering a gun shot wound, a knife stabbing, all manner of kicks and punches but he keeps coming back taking out those that would cross him with a deft touch . . . often at point blank range. Very entertaining, bloody and violent compelling action packed bullet riddled escapism that ticks all the boxes. Director Chad Stahelski has already stated that a third film in the series in currently in the works, which will lead on from where this instalment ends. Bring it on!
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
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