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He’s a man of extremely refined taste, whether he’s getting a new suit tailored or conversing with The Sommelier ( Peter Serafinowicz) about weaponry with the metaphors of fine dining. Some of the most fun moments are just watching Wick prepare.
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There are many delectable details introduced like an old-fashioned steno pool of tattooed darlings that handle the release of hits and other nasty work needing to be done. The budding franchise has some of the best world-building currently in film, besting comic properties and reboots that have decades of material from which to draw. The scene works by leaning into Wick’s mythic nature even more heavily than the first film and establishes the sequel’s excellent comedic stylings.Īfter the opening, the film wastes no time plunging us deeper into the mythology of Wick’s labyrinthine world of assassins, blood oaths and arcane rules. All the while, Abram listens to the ricocheting bullets and belabored screams of his henchmen growing almost cartoonishly overwrought with dread. The opening juxtaposes Wick fluidly moving in and out of shadow killing all manner of men who stand in his path. This gives us a fun Peter Stormare cameo as Abram Tarasov, the brother of the Russian gangster Wick killed the last time around. Wick has already avenged his dog and now wants to recover the car stolen in the previous film. “John Wick: Chapter Two” is never as singularly focused as its stellar opening, which is pretty much the best Batman sequence that never was. Soon, he finds himself facing threats from all sides, including Santino’s mute enforcer Ares ( Ruby Rose) and Cassian (Common), a bodyguard of the woman Wick is forced to kill. But accepting Santino’s offer does not bring Wick the peace he desires so intensely. One devastating house explosion later, he sees no other choice. (For those wondering, the dog remains safe.) He has little time to relax when he finds Santino D’Antonio ( Riccardo Scamarcio) on his doorstep, asking him to make good on the blood oath he made years prior that allowed him to retire from his deadly profession. After all, what else does he have to live for? The sequel picks up shortly after the end of the first film Wick is still reeling from the death of his wife, Helen ( Bridget Moynahan), failing to adjust to a new life even with his adorable, unnamed pitbull steadfastly by his side. It’s easy to believe, as commented on by others in the film, that he’s addicted to the vengeance he dishes out with such panache. “John Wick: Chapter Two” is truly wondrous, but it wouldn’t work without Reeves, who has a sincere love of this genre.
#IS THERE A JOHN WICK 2 MOVIE MOVIE#
For all its great craft, the movie is ultimately a showcase for Keanu Reeves, who returns as the titular assassin, proving his greatness as an actor and action star. In many ways, it’s the platonic ideal of an action film: operatic yet colored with fine-tuned details, blisteringly visceral yet tinged with pathos. It’s also surprisingly hilarious, wringing humor from physical pratfalls and dry wit in unexpected moments. “John Wick: Chapter Two” is a more audacious film, bolder and more violent than its predecessor.
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Have you ever walked out of a film so struck by awe and wonder your skin is abuzz? Has a film ever left you so joyful and drunk on adrenaline that it made you more hopeful about the world? Has a lead performance in an action film ever had such balletic grace it made you marvel at the possibilities of the human body itself? This is exactly how I felt watching “John Wick: Chapter Two,” the sequel to the surprising 2014 action hit.
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