John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) dir. Chad Stahelski

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (2017) dir. CHAD STAHELSKI

John Wick (2014), John Wick: Chapter 2, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, John Wick: Chapter 4 | John Wick | Keanu Reeves | These are in no particular order!

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JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (2017) Directed by Chad Stahelski

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

God fucking dammit! He was amazing as General Lunaris. :(

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

How do you follow a film like John Wick? The 2014 ballet of violence was such a pleasant surprise because it took a plot that’s been done to death and revitalized it. That’s where John Wick: Chapter 2 finds its purpose: by expanding on the world at the characters within it to make what was familiar new.

Set about two weeks after the first film, everyone now knows that assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) has come out of retirement. For crime boss Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), this is the opportunity to collect a debt John owes him.

Like before, the stunt choreography is the reason to buy an admission ticket. By now we sort of know Wick’s preferred method of dispatching his enemies but it’s still plenty of fun to watch him efficiently and methodically take out anyone foolish enough to stand in his way. Director Chad Stahelski even throws in a couple of new tricks to make our jaws drop, like a scene in a bar that involves a pencil and not much else. There’s a particular death in that scene that’ll have you squirming, and you’ll love it.

If you think the only appeal is the violence, you're wrong. There are several points where the cinematography and staging are a wonder to behold. A climactic scene set in a hall of mirrors is a great example. Amazingly, cinematographer Dan Laustsen was able to shoot real people performing real stunts in this tiny enclosed space while keeping the cameras out of any reflections and making it look as good as it does. Oh, and shoot it in a way that’s easy to follow, which is the most impressive aspect.

So far, we’ve talked about what you’d expect from a John Wick film. What’s new? The side characters and large chunks of world-building. John is back in an environment he sought to escape. We caught a glimpse of it previously but now, writer Derek Kolstad gives us a good look. This world hiding in the shadows has its own politics, codes of conduct, currency, honor system and rules. Piecing how it all works is loads of fun because it makes so little sense it makes perfect sense. Countless assassins are hiding among us. The busker playing violin in the subway? They’re hiding a gun in their instrument and are ready to take someone out as soon as they get the call. Think that’s weird? Try wrapping your head around the secret society of killers disguised as vagrants! You have to believe these people spend most of their bullets taking each other out rather than high-ranking politicians who’ve made enemies, which actually makes the movie much more digestible than you’d expect. Like Sin City’s Marv said “I love hitmen. No matter what you do to them, you don't feel bad.” When these hired killers take each other out, they’re not people with jobs; they’re targets for John to take out. The secret society is so busy with itself that there's no room for police officers to respond or innocent civilians to get in the way/be taken hostage. Anyone and everyone has a gun hidden on their person. It’s so absurd it removes you from the weight of what all of these deaths would mean had this film been set in the real world.

John Wick: Chapter 2 (which is not going to be the last in the series) is not as surprising or fresh as the first but it makes up for it. Common, Ruby Rose, Laurence Fishburne and Claudia Gerini all play memorable characters with small but important roles. They join Lance Reddick, John Leguizamo and Ian McShane in the pool of actors who give the world a lot of personality. Once again, the fight scenes and gunplay are spectacular. It’s got more than a few brilliantly shot scenes, and its fast pace means the 122-minute running time flies by like nothing. If you liked the first, you'll want to see this one too. (March 26, 2022)

John Wick: Chapter 2

“John Wick: Chapter 2″ enhances the action and fleshes out the world more, but suffers from a more interesting promise of the next movie instead of just making an engaging film.

John Wick knew that going back to retirement wasn’t going to be as easy as the first time around and the first time was near impossible. When Santino D’Antonio returns to John’s life, he asks to cash in a marker, which is a blood oath that must be kept. The job is to kill D’Antonio’s sister in order for Santino to take her place at the High Table. If John doesn’t do this, he will be killed. If John goes through with it, then Santino will rule over New York with an iron fist.

This is probably the first instance of a sequel doing exactly what I look for in a good sequel, yet still managing to be just as subpar as the first. The action is a whole lot better this time around. You can tell that this movie had a bigger budget because they put it to good use. The kills are more creative. The settings are grander. The lighting is more experimental. I think that was one crucial thing that the first movie was lacking: variety. The action in the first movie got monotonous fast because it was mainly just headshots. This movie changes things up from scene to scene. A lot of it still felt heavily choreographed to me, but it was less egregious than the first. Still, there was one moment when John and another hitman discretely shoot at each other in a train station without anyone noticing. I thought that scene was completely dumb and it would’ve been rectified if there was one line of dialogue that explained that these guns were virtually mute when fired. I mean, they have bulletproof fabric, so it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch. The scope of the film was much larger this time around. I always say that good sequels should do meaningful world-building and “John Wick: Chapter 2″ had the perfect opportunity to. We learn more about the mysterious underground world in this universe and it’s just so intriguing to me. This time around, he’s fully back in the game, so we see how he got ready when he was in his prime. We got to see the cream of the crop when it came to his outfits, weapons, and intel. The story this time around felt more ambitious, but still missed the mark. The first movie had an extremely simple premise. That works because then there’s a minimal margin for error. This movie removes all agency from John Wick, which makes the story feel like it’s only going in one direction. Keanu Reeves made more noticeably bad acting choices in this movie. There were many times when the context made me know what he was going for, but he gave off an entirely different signal. Finally, my biggest gripe about this film is how the ending happens abruptly and basically seems more interested in selling the third installment. The reason why the cliffhanger in “Spider-Man: Far From Home” works is that the narrative was complete. Then it hits you with a taste of unforeseen aftermath. In this movie, the narrative wasn’t complete and it feels like the movie just got bored and wanted to move on to the next one. It feels like an episode of a show rather than a full movie on its own.

★★★

Watched on April 11th, 2023

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) dir. Chad Stahelski

Rookie-Critic's Film Review Weekend Wrap-Up - Week of 3/20-3/26/2023

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023, dir. David F. Sandberg) I think that this Shazam! sequel is really just a dialed up version of everything that worked in the original. More Zachary Levi, more Jack Dylan Grazer, more funny jokes about the fact that he's a kid in a super-powered adult's body. It makes the film a very fun watch, but at the same time, a lot of the jokes don't land because it really feels like they're trying too hard. Also, because they went so heavy with Zachary Levi's screen time, Asher Angel (who actually plays Billy Batson in his normal teen-form) is barely in the film. It kind of creates a disconnect with the kid-adult dynamic that's at the core of the film's humor. That being said, a lot of it is till very funny, the acting is good, especially from Levi, Grazer, Grace Caroline Currey, and of course Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu (who are honestly so good they feel like they're from a different movie), and I had a fun time, even with the myriad of problems the movie had. A nice, turn-your-brain-off distraction.

Score: 6/10 Only in theaters. You can read my full review of Shazam! Fury of the Gods here.

John Wick (2014, dir. Chad Stahelski) [REWATCH] I'm not ashamed to admit that I adore Keanu Reeves. I think he's a fine actor given the right material, and he clearly found his niche the day he decided to star in John Wick. I'm of the, for some reason, unpopular opinion that the first John Wick film is the best in the franchise. The story is engaging, and while the action might not be as balls-to-the-wall crazy as the later installments' would be, it's still some of the most tightly constructed, well shot action choreography modern action filmmaking has given us. There's also an allure to the mystery of the assassin underworld the we barely dip our toes into in the first film that, of course, doesn't exist in the later films. It's just a fantastic action film that covers all its bases.

Score: 10/10 Currently streaming on Peacock.

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017, dir. Chad Stahelski) [REWATCH] This is probably my least favorite installment. The story is less interesting. Santino D'Antonio is a wholly uninteresting villain, and the fights largely feel very generic (although they're still insanely well-designed fights). This film has two saving graces. One, it gave us Laurence Fishburne's The Bowery King, who is my personal favorite character in the franchise (possibly second, we'll get into that in a minute). Fishburne plays Bowery King with the perfect amount of gravitas and bravado to make it the character wonderful. The second saving grace is a particularly brilliant fight scene between John Wick and Cassian, a character played by Common. This fight, which takes place in part in a crowded subway station, is easily one of the more memorable of the franchise and keeps this from being a middling ho-hum sequel to an amazing first outing.

Score: 7/10 Currently streaming on Peacock.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019, dir. Chad Stahelski [REWATCH] I remember not being a big fan of Chapter 3 when it first came out. I remember thinking that the second film had written its successor into a corner that said successor doesn't really do a great job of digging itself out of. I can definitely see why the me of 2019 thought that about Parabellum, but really the me that rewatched this on Thursday night thinks it's a really fun entry into the John Wick franchise that contains a few fantastic set pieces and houses another handful of greatly-choreographed fight scenes. Mark Dacascos' Zero also makes for a vastly more engaging and interesting nemesis for Wick than Santino D'Antonio was in Chapter 2. Their final fight and the ensuing madness that descends upon the New York Continental at the film's end were awesome and, needless to say, I have a higher opinion of this one now than I did when I first watched it back in 2019.

Score: 8/10 Currently streaming on Peacock.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023, dir. Chad Stahelski) This one comes so close to achieving the greatness that the original had. The John Wick franchise's biggest issue has always been that, with each new installment, as the action gets bigger, the story is sacrificed. Thankfully, Chapter 4 subverts that pattern and almost is able to find that perfect balance. I won't say too much, because a full review of this will be dropping at some point this week, but what I will say is that the fight choreography in Chapter 4 is, hands down, the best in the franchise, and Donnie Yen's Cain is quite possibly the greatest character of the franchise, as well, even more John Wick himself. It could have been maybe 20-30 minutes shorter, though.

Score: 9/10 Only in theaters. FULL REVIEW COMING WEDNESDAY.

Waterworld (1995, dir. Kevin Reynolds) You know, I've always heard that this is one of the worst films of all time, and that it was one of the most famous flops of all time, and I gotta say the latter is just factually incorrect, and the former is, in my opinion, not even close to the truth. It's not a good movie, by any means, but really it was kind of, just, ok. There's a lot here that makes absolutely no sense, and the story just kind of chugs along, uncaring as to whether or not the audience has the tools necessary to chug along with it. My friends and I watched the theatrical cut of the film, and I understand that there is a 3-hour cut called the Ulysses Cut that would probably explain a lot of the more confusing holes in the film's story line, but, honestly, I don't think I could sit through 3 hours of Waterworld. I just didn't find it that interesting and I can guarantee it didn't even need to be as along as the version I did watch to make everything make sense. I'm glad I finally watched it, it was a huge film history blindspot for me, but I'm good not having seen the "ideal" version, I'll be able to live with the fact that I'll never get more info on why Captain Joe Hazelwood is idolized by the Smokers, but no one even knows that there are cities beneath their feet at the bottom of the ocean.

Score: 4/10 Currently available to rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and on 4K, Blu-ray & DVD through Universal Studios (I believe this disc does include The Ulysses Cut, for those interested. If it doesn't, I know it exists on the Arrow Video Blu-ray from 2015).

I also watched Scream VI again with my older brother Sunday morning, but y'all have heard me rant about how much I love those movies enough for now. Just know that, yes, even upon a second viewing, it still rocks.

The John Wick movies are masterpieces. Like bruh, he fr the shit

The John Wick henchman hierarchy be like:

Henchman supervisor: Yeah, boss. They’re all—

Henchman boss: [on phone] They’re all dead?

Henchman supervisor: Yeah, they’re all dead.

Henchman boss: FUCK!!

John Wick: Chapter 4 Full Movie

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