Rating of
2.5/4
"John Wick 2"
Yojimbo - wrote on 08/15/19
The indestructible killer for hire calls a truce with the Russian mob, but upon hearing that he has returned to "the business" an Italian mobster calls in an old debt leaving John at odds with the entire assassin fraternity.
The original John Wick was a decent if unspectacular action thriller based upon a comic book, and this sequel continues the story from the point where the original left off. Once again a laconic Keanu grudgingly deals out death and destruction wherever he goes, with a bodycount even more extravagant than before. It once again is heavily influenced by Asian action cinema - notably John Woo's Hardboiled and A Better Tomorrow 2 - and the finale is set within a hall of mirrors like a postmodern homage to Enter The Dragon. Laurence Fishburne adds his weighty presence to the supporting cast and the constant bloodletting is stylish and efficient. Again it's all rather generic, and again it's all rather light on plot, but the star's charisma and its general no-nonsense approach works to create a fairly enjoyable shoot 'em up.
Hardly an intellectual exercise, but John Wick 2 achieves exactly what it sets out to do with a modicum of panache.
