John Wick: Chapter 2

Being a teenager in the 90´s, i used to run down to the local video store called Videomix in Uddevalla. I rented VHS films all the time, and i remember when the owner once told me :- Do you really have time to see all of these films ? I was a VHS nerd, and i still am i suppose, but upgraded for a dvd / blu ray nerd instead. In the 90´s, there were some really good action films released. Especially one film, that is just as good today, as it was back in 1996. The film i am thinking about is of course The Rock. Holy mother of Ron De Jeremy Rum, this film had so many intensive action scenes, that you could not let this film go. I still think that this is the best film by director Michael Bay ( he have actually made some good films, The Island is also a good choice ). The Rock did not only have fantastic action scenes, we had some good acting also from Sean Connery, Ed Harris, Nicolas Cage, William Forsythe and Michael Biehn. It has now passed over 20 years since this film came out, and i still think that The Rock is one of the best action films of the 90´s. But let´s stay for a moment in the 90´s. Remember the early films of actor Keanu Reeves ? Bill And Ted films or perhaps Point Break with Patrick Swayze ? I am thinking about another film, that became a huge box office hit, called Speed. Released in 1994, Speed is an action film, with a different twist than most action films. A bus full of strangers, where a bomb is on board. If they don´t drive withing a certain speed limit, the bus will explode, and they can´t stop. A smart idea for a plot, and the film was also very well made. Keanue Reeves proved himself to be an action star, and of course Sandra Bullock did a great job as well. I would like to say that Dennis Hopper, as the evil terrorist, is one of the strongest characters of the film. Speed is still an action classic, and i think this film proved that you can make an action film, without a lot of CGI effects, and use more simple details. Keanu Reeves have of course since the 90´s, been in a number of great films, where The Matrix trilogy is of course included. Constantine is one of my personal favourite films with Keanu Reeves, a really well made film, based on the DC Comics´ Hellblazer. If you have not seen this film, make sure you get the blu ray. As Keanu Reeves continued his film career, he made a sudden turn in 2014 with the action film John Wick. This became a box office hit, and is a very well made action film. The difference between John Wick and other action films, that came out in 2014, was that this film had a much cooler look, and had some really intensive action scenes, where CGI was not used ( lovely ). I had a feeling that a sequel would be coming our way, so here we are, we have the next chapter in cinemas with John Wick. Of course i had to see it in cinemas, since i enjoyed the first film a lot. Is this a worthy sequel to a really good action film, or does this sequel fall in the usual trap of bad choices ?

Former assassin John Wick ( Keanu Reeves ) track down his stolen 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 at a chop shop, owned by Abram Tarasov ( Peter Stormare ). John try to take his car out of the chop shop, but is attacked by Abram's men.  They destroy his car, but John kill them all, except for Abram, and decides to let him live. After Johns friend Aurelio ( John Leguizamo fix his car, John Wick is visited by Italian crime lord Santino D' Antonio ( Riccardo Scamarcio ). Santino demand that John will help him, since they have sworn a blood oath, through a symbolized medallion.  John refuse to help Santino, so Johns house is destroyed with a grenade launcher. Winston ( Ian McShane ) , owner of the Continental Hotel in New York, warn John about the danger of breaking the rules of the underworld. Eventually John accept a mission from Santino, to go to Rome and assassinate his sister Gianna D' Antonio ( Claudia Gerini ). As John confront her, Gianna decides to take her own life.  As John leaves, he is confronted by Santino's men,  who tries to kill him. Something does not seem right, was he led to a trap, or does Santino have other plans? 

Since i was hoping that John Wick: Chapter 2 would continue the story of John Wick, in a very elegant way as the first film, i can tell you i am a ( little bit ) disappointed. Not because of the hard hitting action scenes, but for the emotional look inside his life. Outside the massive action scenes, you don´t really feel that you care about John Wick´s personal life, as much as you would like to. I like Keanu Reeves as John Wick, no question about that. But the scenes where we are supposed to see his more personal sides, does not feel very emotional. So it is basically when his anger comes out, where we get to have some more fun. As an action film, John Wick: Chapter 2 does deliver. We have plenty of raw hard hitting action scenes, with lots of guns and fighting. And that is a good sign, because this is the way we want to see John Wick. There are some scenes, where you really feel at home. Especially when you get to see Wick clean up, using all kinds of fighting technique. It is almost as you can hear him break some bones, and for me this is a sign that love actually does exist. If you remember the first film, directed by Chad Stahelski, it had a very stylish look, and gorgeous cinematography by Jonathan Sela. Not only was Keanu Reeves really good as John Wick, but the main villain Viggo Tarasov ( by swedish actor Michael Nyqvist ) was a mean, bad ass character. The action scenes looked really good. I can tell you that director Chad Stahelski have managed to capture the atmosphere, in this sequel of the first film. He must have known that fans would demand to see a worthy sequel. And this is a good sequel, no doubt about that. Although, i would have wanted the film to be more focused on the dark sides of John Wick, instead of the personal images of his life. Keanu Reeves continue to impress me, with his take on the character John Wick. You can tell that he wants to make sure, that he really does all the fighting, and as much action stunts as he possibly can do. Nice to see Laurence Fishburne here as The Bowery King, and Peter Stormare as the russian gangster Abram Tarasov ( too bad he is only in the film for a short time ). The story is not very deep, but then again, the first film did not have a very deep story. It is more about the character, and his struggling to get the job done. I can see what director Chad Stahelski wanted to do with this sequel, showing a more personal side of John Wick, and a look inside the assassin world. As far as the look inside the assassin world, this part works pretty good, while the other part could have been stronger. Overall, i suggest you see John Wick: Chapter 2 in a cinema near you, i doubt you will see any action film as well made as this one this spring. Once the actions scenes kick in, you feel like a young boy at Christmas Eve, clapping your hands. Tired of all those romantic comedies that always end up in cinemas, making your day feel miserable? John Wick: Chapter 2 will make sure to wipe them all out, it is such a lovely thing what some big guns can do to make a brighter day.

Rating: DDD