John Wick

John Wick: Chapter 2

  • Title: John Wick: Chapter 2
  • IMDb: link

John Wick 2 movie review2014’s John Wick was a thoroughly-enjoyable throwaway action flick. A simplistic revenge story with style and some unforgettable stunts, director Chad Stahelski‘s film knew exactly what it was and just how to deliver. A callback to 80s-style of gun-toting heroes who shot first and asked questions later, the movie ignored modern trends of cutting action scenes into an unrecognizable mess and kept the camera still to allow us to see the awesome unfold on screen. Stunts we could actually watch and enjoy, imagine that.

The sequel is a little more muddled than the original. After the pre-credit sequence wraps up the lone outstanding piece of John Wick’s revenge murder spree, the film slogs through a good 15-20 minutes of exposition, world building, and over-convoluted plot before remembering what it is and why it exists. Once the action ramps back up the film runs full blast to the closing credits, and perhaps beyond. John Wick: Chapter 2 ramps up the headshots and body count to an absurd degree with a handful of memorable kills that even put those from the first film to shame. At its best, it’s running 180 MPH with its burning rubber on fire, but when it idles the vehicle nearly stalls. Okay, no more car metaphors.

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First Look – John Wick: Chapter 2

  • Title: John Wick: Chapter 2
  • IMDb: link

Keanu Reeves returns as legendary hitman John Wick who is forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Common, Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose, Bridget Moynahan, John Leguizamo, and Ian McShane also star. The sequel opens in theaters February 10th.

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John Wick

  • Title: John Wick
  • IMDb: link

John WickJohn Wick is the type of old school throwback that makes me think of the early action flicks of Steven Seagal and Arnold Schwarzenegger. With a threadbare plot and the loose message of be careful who you fuck with, Keanu Reeves stars in the title role as a legendary killer brought out of retirement by the son (Alfie Allen) of a local gangster who, only days after the passing of Wick’s wife, kills the man’s dog and steals his vintage sports car. Needless to say the punk didn’t realize who he was messing with.

A typical revenge story, John Wick gives Reeves the opportunity to kill many, many people (including an impressive number of victims shot in the head). The film is populated with amusing small roles such as Willem Dafoe and Adrianne Palicki as other hitmen and Ian McShane as the proprietor of a hotel who caters specifically to those in Wick’s line of business, but what you’re really paying for is the nonstop action and high body count. And that the film delivers.

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