First, the Recap:
Only days after the chaotic events encountered during his “out-of-retirement” activities, hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) chooses to reclaim his classic Ford Mustang Mach 1 in a fashion only Wick would dare to engage in. However, not soon after, Wick receives an unwelcome visit from Italian mobster Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) looking to cash in on a specific “Marker” events from John’s past brought into being between the two men. Initially refusing to do what D’Antonio requests, which involves his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini), Wick soon learns there is no escape from the obligation. But, after carrying it out, Wick quickly becomes a “loose end”, and soon has all of D’Antonio’s forces after him, including master assassins Cassian (Common) and Ares (Ruby Rose). In choosing to end the conflict once and for all, though, Wick’s status in the underground becomes threatened as well, threatening to make him a target for life.
Worth Seeing: YES
Veteran stuntman Chad Stahelski returns to the lead chair for this sequel to 2014’s surprise sleeper hit and does so, if it was possible, with even more bang for your body armor plated buck! Boasting an even more insane amount of weapons use, car chases, and blunt force hand-to-hand combat, Stahelski wastes no time in asserting Wick’s promise from film number one–“Yeah, I think I’m back!”–immersing the viewer into the frenetically-paced action right the start and truly never lets up! Reeves continues to shine as the title character, able to both present Wick in his suave, suit-wearing smoothness but then kicking into lethal mode in seconds.
Scamarcio, Gerini, Common, and Rose, plus Laurence Fishburne and Peter Stormare, add new blood (No pun intended. No, seriously!) to the proceedings in style paired with equal menace and respective skills, while returning faces like Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, John Leguizamo, and Bridget Moynahan remind us why we longed for this second installment! It’s everything you want in an action film and then some, carried off with more intelligence and style than the genre usually offers.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
