Reeves is back for another hit and he’s dead on target
A SURPRISE hit when it propelled Keanu Reeves’ action career back into high gear, 2014’s John Wick concluded with more than enough momentum for a sequel, or even several.
The thriller about a former professional assassin who reluctantly emerges from retirement to exact revenge against some mercilessly misguided Russian mobsters capitalised on an energetic visual style and relentless pacing as Reeves robustly performed much of his own high-energy stuntwork.
Ambitiously expanding the follow-up to a global scale implicitly signals its intention to operate at the level of iconic international actioners like the Bond, Bourne and Mission: Impossible series. The success of John Wick: Chapter 2 will go a long way toward demonstrating whether the franchise can distinguish itself from the competition in that rarefied realm.
Picking up only a few days after the events of the first film, the sequel finds John Wick (Reeves) finally succeeding in retrieving his prized 1969 black Mustang from New York’s Russian mob after a gut-wrenching car chase and more than a few retaliatory beatdowns. Wick barely finishes stashing his impressive collection of weaponry in anticipation of finally enjoying his retirement undisturbed when an unexpected visitor turns up at his door. Fellow assassin Santino D’Antonio (Scamarcio) has come to claim a debt that Wick incurred when D’Antonio saved Wick’s life. His intervention provided the opening for Wick to secretly withdraw from professional crime and start over again with his now-deceased wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan, seen only in brief flashbacks).
Although he’s obliged by a blood oath to honour his rival’s repayment demand, Wick declines to return to his spurned profession, growling: “I’m not that guy anymore.” D’Antonio responds: “You’re always that guy, John,” and directs him to target his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini), the head of their Italian crime family. After Wick categorically refuses, D’Antonio finds a more emphatic means of persuasion, directing a grenade launcher at Wick’s home.
Cut off from his supply of weapons, Wick pays a visit to Winston (McShane), the shadowy arbiter of the assassins guild’s arcane customs, who tells Wick that if he doesn’t fulfill his obligation to D’Antonio, the organisation itself will have him eliminated.
Out of options, Wick travels to Rome to prepare for taking out Gianna, who’s well-protected by loyal hitman Cassian (Common) and an army of thugs. D’Antonio is determined to stop her before she can assume a position among the leaders controlling the world’s top organised-crime groups, an honour that he claims for himself. So he assigns his mute but deadly bodyguard Ares (Rose) to shadow Wick.
Reeves is back in fine form, confirming how indispensable he is to the franchise with his lithe physicality, no-nonsense demeanour and impressive skills, as he again performs many of his own driving and martial arts stunts. Returning screenwriter Derek Kolstad reaffirms the ingenuity of his memorable lead character, whose clear motivations for underworld score-settling are relatable and rootable. Once again, Reeves does not disappoint, fully inhabiting Wick by channelling his rage over life’s injustices into an intensely focused performance.
This time around, Kolstad miscues some key plot developments, however, principally by neglecting to centre the action on Wick’s antagonist D’Antonio from the outset and focusing on the logistics of Wick’s assassination assignment instead. By the middle of the film, more formidable adversaries have emerged, diluting the main conflict further. – Hollywood Reporter