JOHN WICK
2014 ‧ Crime film/Thriller ‧ 1h 47m
92% liked this movie
Google users
Legendary assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) retired from his violent career after marrying the love of his life. Her sudden death leaves John in deep mourning. When sadistic mobster Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) and his thugs steal John's prized car and kill the puppy that was a last gift from his wife, John unleashes the remorseless killing machine within and seeks vengeance. Meanwhile, Iosef's father (Michael Nyqvist) -- John's former colleague -- puts a huge bounty on John's head.
Release date: 10 April 2015 (United Kingdom)
Directors: David Leitch, Chad Stahelski
Box office: 88.8 million USD
Initial DVD release: 3 February 2015 (USA)
Wife: Helen
John Wick Chapter 2:
2017 ‧ Crime film/Thriller ‧ 2h 2m
Google users
Retired super-assassin John Wick's plans to resume a quiet civilian life are cut short when Italian gangster Santino D'Antonio shows up on his doorstep with a gold marker, compelling him to repay past favors. Ordered by Winston, kingpin of secret assassin society The Continental, to respect the organization's ancient code, Wick reluctantly accepts the assignment to travel to Rome to take out D'Antonio's sister, the ruthless capo atop the Italian Camorra crime syndicate.
Release date: 17 February 2017 (United Kingdom)
Box office: 171.5 million USD
Based on: Characters; by Derek Kolstad
The denotation of this clip is mainly a conflict rich fight scene that is hosted under a night club in a vip area. Guns shooting everywhere, and violence endorsed from both good and evil perspectives, even though the audience is positioned to believe that John Wick is the protagonist. The antagonist gang members are foreign crew individual which fits the conventions of antagonists in action movies as it shows the American nation as a dominant force and well as show its superiority. Some of the connotations were mentioned before, however there are still more to discuss. The simple connotations for this fight scene is the greed and hate he possess for the young adult in the bath tub who happens to be the son of a gang business co-operation.
The most significant connotation of this extract and the whole film is the idea of 'love'. this is evident during the narrative where it shows the reasons behind the actions of the character John Wick which may fit the genre as there must be a background overview of the main character. Similarly the connotations of this genre has evolved to be what it is now. The action genre contains very recognisable conventions that need to be met to fit this category.
The character John wears very high tech accessories to help his combat that his role in the film takes. his costume mainly is an adaptation of the action genre as its technological advanced as it is bullot proof as well as being smart and posh. His props of knives and guns are used as symbols of iconography to identify the demographic of the movie. facial expressions do not step over the convention as seen on the clip as the violence endorses the angry, determined facial expressions.
As genre is the main topic of this essay it is easy to say the action, thrill based genre hasnt changed dramatically of the timeline of films, which is why it is easy to spot an action simply from its mise-en-scene. From the dark atmosphere (low-light) setting to the violence and visceral pleasures emitted by the audiences this film obeys the rules of this genre.
In this specific fight scene there isn't any non-dietetic sounds when it comes to commentary, voice overs and other sounds that characters don't hear. The langue spoken is english with harsh censored words that are not acceptable to be
The most significant connotation of this extract and the whole film is the idea of 'love'. this is evident during the narrative where it shows the reasons behind the actions of the character John Wick which may fit the genre as there must be a background overview of the main character. Similarly the connotations of this genre has evolved to be what it is now. The action genre contains very recognisable conventions that need to be met to fit this category.
The character John wears very high tech accessories to help his combat that his role in the film takes. his costume mainly is an adaptation of the action genre as its technological advanced as it is bullot proof as well as being smart and posh. His props of knives and guns are used as symbols of iconography to identify the demographic of the movie. facial expressions do not step over the convention as seen on the clip as the violence endorses the angry, determined facial expressions.
As genre is the main topic of this essay it is easy to say the action, thrill based genre hasnt changed dramatically of the timeline of films, which is why it is easy to spot an action simply from its mise-en-scene. From the dark atmosphere (low-light) setting to the violence and visceral pleasures emitted by the audiences this film obeys the rules of this genre.
In this specific fight scene there isn't any non-dietetic sounds when it comes to commentary, voice overs and other sounds that characters don't hear. The langue spoken is english with harsh censored words that are not acceptable to be
Media Representations
There are two main representations in the entire film, the first being the antagonists and the background they come from which includes racial groups, the second is the people who endorse the acts of crime reinforced in the franchise, one of them being the main hero John Wick and the rest of the characters.
Typically action genre based films, especially block busters tend include some stereotypes including the antagonist being from an eastern european country such as Russia. They are seen as villain and dangerous beings, which is where the american hero tries to defeat the bad guy. sort of replicated by try conflict between Russia and the US, and shown as American dominance and freedom.
In American political views this ideology is indeed true this is because the aspect of being an American is thought to be the most powerful nation and being at the top of the food chain. However, not every time the villain has to be from a foreign country other than america.
Narrative
For both films, its a sequel which carries on the narrative. Conventionally, this film follows action narrative structures which tend to start with an equilibrium, then the peace is disturbed which is called an equilibrium, then finally the peace is restored when John Wick kills the Villain and gets his vengeance. The second film follows this structure mainly. However, at the end it leaves the film at a cliff hanger which raises enigma codes to the audiences which gets them wondering on whats going to happen next.
Audiences get a first person overview of the entire narrative as they are following the lifestyle of the dangerous protagonist John Wick which many villains hype about because of their fear towards them. They are also positioned to prefer Wick rather than the villains even though the villains commit far less murders than the actual hero who takes out two whole clan gangsters.
the hero John Wick was very easily identifiable to be the protagonist as the camera focused on him alone in the first sequences of the movies as well as the fact the audience were drawn to follow his life constantly. During the mid section of the first film the narrative finally unveiled the antagonist character which was the entire institution of gangs rather than the son of the owner.
with the main character there are some elements of personal identification inspired by Blumler and Katz theory of uses and gratification. The part that audiences identify with could be the fact Wick had lost a loved one and now he misses her. this could engage some emotional attachments with the character which leads to easy identification and engagement to the role.
What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?
The action genre as explained before as an iconic and easliy dentifiable codes and conventions. The music in order to fit the norm it is up beat music with fast
Genre
For both films, its a sequel which carries on the narrative. Conventionally, this film follows action narrative structures which tend to start with an equilibrium, then the peace is disturbed which is called an equilibrium, then finally the peace is restored when John Wick kills the Villain and gets his vengeance. The second film follows this structure mainly. However, at the end it leaves the film at a cliff hanger which raises enigma codes to the audiences which gets them wondering on whats going to happen next.
Audiences get a first person overview of the entire narrative as they are following the lifestyle of the dangerous protagonist John Wick which many villains hype about because of their fear towards them. They are also positioned to prefer Wick rather than the villains even though the villains commit far less murders than the actual hero who takes out two whole clan gangsters.
the hero John Wick was very easily identifiable to be the protagonist as the camera focused on him alone in the first sequences of the movies as well as the fact the audience were drawn to follow his life constantly. During the mid section of the first film the narrative finally unveiled the antagonist character which was the entire institution of gangs rather than the son of the owner.
with the main character there are some elements of personal identification inspired by Blumler and Katz theory of uses and gratification. The part that audiences identify with could be the fact Wick had lost a loved one and now he misses her. this could engage some emotional attachments with the character which leads to easy identification and engagement to the role.
What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?
The action genre as explained before as an iconic and easliy dentifiable codes and conventions. The music in order to fit the norm it is up beat music with fast
Genre
It is very clear to identify what type of genre this piece of text belong to as it is a Action heavy film that conveys many thrill ideologies. This is one of the only film in modern days that is purely rich is action conventions. This includes the way the cinematography was filmed, style of shots, style of editing ect. Simply, mise-en-scene action film orientated genre settings.
The key conventions of the John Wick trilogy fit perfectly with any other action genre based movie. Giving an insight of the film, there are countless amount of thing that fit in the iconography and typical aspects of its genre. Ranging from guns and weapons to dominant male alpha protagonist. In addition of the fact the main character is a white American upper class hero who reinforces the biased stereotype of protagonists.
The major iconic elements of the action genre are depicted in a world that is hidden from the current where criminology is a lifestyle for highly train males and females. This unusual way of living like an assassin make the viewers have the sense of diversion connoted by the theorists (Blumler and Katz) and their theory of Uses and Gratification.
What are the major generic themes?
To what extent are the characters generically determined?
To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?
Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?
Media Audiences
The most significant connotation of this extract and the whole film is the idea of 'love'. this is evident during the narrative where it shows the reasons behind the actions of the character John Wick which may fit the genre as there must be a background overview of the main character. Similarly the connotations of this genre has evolved to be what it is now. The action genre contains very recognisable conventions that need to be met to fit this category.
The character John wears very high tech accessories to help his combat that his role in the film takes. his costume mainly is an adaptation of the action genre as its technological advanced as it is bullot proof as well as being smart and posh. His props of knives and guns are used as symbols of iconography to identify the demographic of the movie. facial expressions do not step over the convention as seen on the clip as the violence endorses the angry, determined facial expressions.
As genre is the main topic of this essay it is easy to say the action, thrill based genre hasnt changed dramatically of the timeline of films, which is why it is easy to spot an action simply from its mise-en-scene. From the dark atmosphere (low-light) setting to the violence and visceral pleasures emitted by the audiences this film obeys the rules of this genre.
In this specific fight scene there isn't any non-dietetic sounds when it comes to commentary, voice overs and other sounds that characters don't hear. The langue spoken is english with harsh censored words that are not acceptable to be
The major iconic elements of the action genre are depicted in a world that is hidden from the current where criminology is a lifestyle for highly train males and females. This unusual way of living like an assassin make the viewers have the sense of diversion connoted by the theorists (Blumler and Katz) and their theory of Uses and Gratification.
What are the major generic themes?
To what extent are the characters generically determined?
To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?
Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?
Media Audiences
The most significant connotation of this extract and the whole film is the idea of 'love'. this is evident during the narrative where it shows the reasons behind the actions of the character John Wick which may fit the genre as there must be a background overview of the main character. Similarly the connotations of this genre has evolved to be what it is now. The action genre contains very recognisable conventions that need to be met to fit this category.
The character John wears very high tech accessories to help his combat that his role in the film takes. his costume mainly is an adaptation of the action genre as its technological advanced as it is bullot proof as well as being smart and posh. His props of knives and guns are used as symbols of iconography to identify the demographic of the movie. facial expressions do not step over the convention as seen on the clip as the violence endorses the angry, determined facial expressions.
As genre is the main topic of this essay it is easy to say the action, thrill based genre hasnt changed dramatically of the timeline of films, which is why it is easy to spot an action simply from its mise-en-scene. From the dark atmosphere (low-light) setting to the violence and visceral pleasures emitted by the audiences this film obeys the rules of this genre.
In this specific fight scene there isn't any non-dietetic sounds when it comes to commentary, voice overs and other sounds that characters don't hear. The langue spoken is english with harsh censored words that are not acceptable to be
ROTTEN TOMATO COMMENTS AND CRITIC PAGES:
Daily Telegraph
John Wick review: 'Keanu is dynamite'
Keanu Reeves is at the peak of his powers as a lean, mean killing machine in this stylish revenge thriller
Keanu Reeves, amazingly, is 50, and whether he has a portrait in the attic, or his character from Point Break is up there growing flabby from residuals, the figure he cuts in John Wick isn’t giving us any clues. This sharply tailored revenge thriller is his best film in a long, long while, and the first since at least Constantine – his underrated, undead-battling enterprise from 2005 – that knows how to make a chiselled Reeves hero seethe and mean business.
Enough of the “can’t act” snark. He can act. His grief in the first reel here – first at losing a wife to sudden illness, then a puppy, her last gift to him – is slicing and tender. The film knows these are manipulation tactics, bringing us emotionally on board so its trashy violence can mean something. But if they’re patently twists of the arm, they’re handled with surprisingly mature self-awareness, and loving care.
John Wick, the retired hit man Reeves is playing, is well-named. He is dormant dynamite, keeping well away from naked flames, and has been ever since a deal with Russian mob boss Viggo (Michael Nyqvist, beautifully bitter) allowed him to step back from the killing game. No one, least of all John himself, wants his serene remove from the crime world to come to an end.
Unfortunately, a widowed Wick has lost all meaning in life. And then Viggo’s son, nicely played by a bristling and impetuous Alfie Allen, clocks eyes on his pride and joy – a vintage Mustang, which John roars around town – and has no idea who he’s messing with. Invading John’s home to get the keys, beating him senseless, and leaving his dead dog beside him as a parting gift, Allen’s Tarasov and his goons commit the grievous mistake of assuming they’re untouchable. They are very much not.
John Wick works because of its sleek, artisanal dovetailing of style and sincerity. The winking ironic streak is a streak – not a whole curdling outlook as it was in something like Kingsman. Plus, there’s respect for the way a good genre film needs stealth in its arsenal. When Wick takes on dozens of armed henchmen and brings them down in fiendishly quick-fire bursts of hand-to-hand combat, these long and cinematically fluent sequences flaunt the percussive action savvy of peak-period John Woo.
But in the brooding pauses, the night-time melancholy, and the tight little tangle of professional allegiances put up on screen, it more pointedly recalls early stuff by Walter Hill – terse neo-noirs such as 1978’s existential getaway flick The Driver.
One of Hill’s most memorable supporting players – David Patrick Kelly, the “come out and play-ii-yay!” guy from gang-fight classic The Warriors (1979) – turns up to cement the connection, as a sort of assassin’s guild undertaker. “Dinner reservation for 12”, as Keanu puts it over the phone, is secret assassin speak for “I’ve just killed a dozen guys, please cling film their corpses and take them off in a truck marked ‘Waste Disposal’”.
Ian McShane is a devilish treat as the owner of a highly confidential killers’ hotel, with strict, do-or-die rules about in-house business transactions, and a receptionist played with creepy politesse by The Wire’s Lance Reddick. Reeves has a great, hate-fuelled tussle in this establishment with a cut-throat, rule-breaking rival, Miss Perkins (a ferocious Adrianne Palicki), who drops in uninvited when Viggo puts an open hit out: it’s like a hot, after-hours date, with death instead of sex on the menu.
The world of assassins here is quite jolly in its haute-couture way – Willem Dafoe’s Marcus, before we know whose side he’s on, reveals a custom-built gun locker in his elegantly furnished home, just behind the Steinway grand. John Wick has such stylistic assurance that even when it falters – the music’s a bit moronic, and the subtitles for Russian dialogue get a naff, pseudo-pulpy typeface – it mainly tends to remind you how much you’re enjoying everything else. I’d watch a sequel in a shot.
Independent
John Wick, film review: Dialogue is strictly secondary as Keanu Reeves seeks revenge
John Wick was made by stuntmen – and it shows. Its director, Chad Stahelski, was a stunt co-ordinator and double for Keanu Reeves on The Matrix. He and his partner David Leitch run a top Hollywood stunt company. They've delivered a film which plays like one prolonged, glorified action sequence, in which dialogue and characterisation are strictly secondary. "He stole John Wick's car, sir, and killed his dog," one character explains to a mobster boss, summing up the entire plot in the process.
Wick (Reeves) is a retired hitman whose wife has just died. When delinquent Russian-American Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen from Game of Thrones) makes off with his Mustang and takes liberties with the Andrex ad-like puppy his wife left him to help him cope with his grief, Wick vows revenge. There are some tremendously stylish sequences here and some colourful character, including Willem Dafoe as a very ghoulish assassin and Michael Nyqvist as a well- spoken Russian thug.
Reeves, though, is strangely cast: he is just too genial and laidback a presence to make a convincing angel of death. As Wick leaves corpse after corpse in his wake, the storytelling becomes more and more preposterous – its saving grace is the sheer operatic excess of the bloodletting.
TIMES
John Wick - Review
Just when you have all but given up hope for Keanu Reeves, when it looks as if he will sink slowly into B-movie oblivion and creaky martial arts films, there comes the hyper-stylised revenge movie John Wick. And you remember what you loved about him in the first place.
John Wick, the eponymous antihero of this enjoyably trashy and lurid bloodbath, could have been precision-tooled for Reeves’s skillset. He’s a striking physical presence — lean and mean in a neatly tailored black suit, with great hair and high cheekbones, which look particularly arresting when splattered with the blood of Russian gangsters.
He is not required to do much emoting apart from a bit of manly crying at the funeral of his wife. He barely has any dialogue. There’s a pivotal telephone conversation to which Wick contributes not a single word. “What did he say?” inquires a quivering lackey to his mobster boss. “Enough,” says the boss ominously, well aware that Wick’s silence speaks volumes. In this case volumes of blood.
There’s a shoot ’em up, computer-game quality to Wick’s relentless quest for vengeance (the bad guys stole his car and killed his puppy, so the mayhem is clearly justified). Yet what elevates John Wick is the backdrop: an arcane members’ club and hotel that caters to the specific needs of professional killers and operates according to a strict code of dishonour. It has a bespoke cleaning service and its own currency. In his day, before he married and retired, Wick was their best customer.
Chad Stahelski, 15, 101mins
The Guardian
John Wick review – the action sequences grind on and on
John Wick is here to prove once again that an adorable little dog in a thriller has a life expectancy similar to a red shirt in Star Trek: the stench of impending cruelty and victimhood rises from the poor little thing in waves. Keanu Reeves plays a retired hit-man called John Wick, a widower with a lovable dog and a 1969 Mustang – ownership of a classic muscle car naturally denoting old-school integrity and self-reliance. (Professional acquaintances jauntily address him as Jonathan. Wait, shouldn’t he be called “Jon Wick”?)
When Russian mobsters who once employed Wick give him violent disrespect, our guy has no choice but to hand out some serious payback, pausing occasionally for sentimental viewings of a video of his late wife on his smartphone. The battery life on that thing is amazing. There are one or two servicable action sequences here: particularly when Wick has a pop at one victim taking his ease in a nightclub hot-tub. But Reeves’s semi-deliberate zonked deadpan style only really works in juxtaposition with funny dialogue – and this is a pretty humourless and violent film, which grinds on and on with more and more gleaming black SUVs getting trashed. Michael Nyqvist (from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) plays the grizzled Russian gangster who, despite everything, has alpha-male regard for Keanu.
Empire Magazine
There are, broadly speaking, two ways to go when it comes to fight sequences. The first is to bust a few moves then use lively camerawork and quick edits to make an indifferent pugilist look like The Grandmaster. The more challenging route is to choreograph an extended sequence, sit back, frame a nice wide shot and let the actor carry the can. Given that first-time directors Stahelski and Leitch are both veteran stunt co-ordinators, that fact that they opt for door number two is not surprising. The assured proficiency with which they conduct John Wick’s symphony of gunplay, however, is.
Like the best Cantonese Gun Fu, every exchange of lead in John Wick is painstakingly mapped out and executed with silky smooth precision. Reeves glides through moves with practiced ease, rolling, ducking and grappling like a bearded ninja, only throwing bullet rain instead of punches. The sequences are inventive, too, touched by a wry sense of humour (an irritated mid-kill reload is a particular highlight) to keep any hint of fight fatigue at bay.
The dust-ups are the film’s main course and the directors know it, serving them up at steady intervals with narrative amuse-bouches passed out in the lulls. And bite-sized the story most certainly is, existing solely to set Wick in motion, then keep the corpses coming. Thin though it is, the plot is not without charm and as with the action, Derek Kolstad’s script boasts a confident exuberance. The setup is enriched by a fanciful mythology where New York’s contract killers all hang out at The Continental – a hitmen-only hotel that acts as a kind of homicidal Cheers bar. Gaffer in residence is a delightfully camp Ian McShane, one of several blink-and-you’ll-miss-them pop-ups alongside Lance Reddick, John Leguizamo, and Clarke Peters.
While this inhabits the same vigilante-porn subgenre as Taken 3 or The Equalizer, John Wick is in on the joke in a way that few such movies are. With this, Leitch and Stehelski (Keanu’s Matrix stunt double) have set themselves out as a duo to watch. Reeves, meanwhile, hasn’t kicked this kind of arse since he walked into that lobby with a bag full of guns back in 1999.
New Yorker - Critic
Keanu Reeves’s latest film, produced and directed by two former stuntmen (David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, both of whom doubled for Reeves in the “Matrix” movies), is stylishly violent and not much else. Reeves plays a former hit man who revives his career by taking on the Russian mob after his wife dies of a lingering illness. (The gangsters aroused his ire by shooting his dog.) The movie’s simple plot and bloody action scenes, which include more head shots than a casting director’s portfolio, leave little room for complexity, and there’s a lack of tension in the clichéd setups. Reeves has only a few lines of dialogue, which he delivers in his usual monotone, and the film gradually sinks into video-game carnage. With Willem Dafoe and the great Ian McShane, who have little to do but watch.
— Bruce Diones
John Wick Chapter 2
As in 2014's surprise hit, this elegantly choreographed action sequel elevates its brutal confrontations to a dazzling form of modern dance.
“John Wick” wasn’t designed for a sequel. It began with someone killing John Wick’s dog, and ended with the vengeance-bent uber-assassin stealing a new best friend from an animal shelter, after dropping 76 (or more) dead bodies along the way. The movie, which launched the directorial career of Keanu Reeve’s stunt double in “The Matrix,” Chad Stahelski, succeeded not on the strength of its story, but on the elegance of its action, and while it reaches at times to justify its own existence, “John Wick: Chapter 2” boasts a reunion with “Matrix” co-star Laurence Fishburne and two major improvements on the original: First, no animals were harmed in the making of the film. And secondly, the human body count is significantly higher.
If the latter detail offends your humanistic sensibilities, then this isn’t the franchise for you. Even for “Grand Theft Auto” junkies and those at the other end of the spectrum, it can actually get tiresome watching Wick eliminate a seemingly inexhaustible stream of henchmen at times. But there’s a quality to the violence here that elevates it above the literal (and reprehensible) nihilism of movies like last year’s “Hardcore Henry,” and instead achieves something more akin to dance.
The John Wick movies accomplish what Hong Kong action flicks did a quarter-century ago, seducing bloodthirsty (predominately male) audiences into appreciating an exquisitely choreographed modern ballet. If you doubt that Stahelski sees his own job in these terms, look no further than how he lights each scene: Even neon demon Nicolas Winding Refn must be taking notes at the way Stahelski and his crew place bright-fuchsia fluorescent tubes in a New York subway, poltergeist-blue spotlights beneath the arches of ancient Roman catacombs, and nightclub-worthy accents throughout an elaborate hall of mirrors art exhibit.
In the opening scene, a Russian crime tsar (Peter Stormare) reminds us of Wick’s ruthless boogeyman reputation, and after Wick retrieves his stolen 1969 Mustang and knocks off another dozen or so of his men, he brokers a truce that puts the vendetta of the first movie to rest. Rules matter to the criminals in Wick’s world, and even he is bound by them, lest he find himself outside the protection of the Continental — a secret network of assassins dreamed up by screenwriter Derek Kolstad for the original.
Recognizing that the Continental was effectively what distinguished “John Wick” from nearly all the other revenge sagas out there, Kolstad has decided to elaborate on its mythology this time around, expanding the homicidal fraternity beyond a single New York hotel to an international organization governed by its own sort of omertà. Rule No. 1, “No blood on Continental grounds,” serves to protect bitter rivals, the way “base” does in grade-school games of tag. Rule No. 2, “Every marker must be honored,” explains why Wick can’t retire just yet: In order to leave the organization, he pledged to fulfill one last favor when asked. And now, his marker has come due.
Wick’s debt drags him into the middle of a power play for a seat at the High Table, a council of international super-criminals in which Italian playboy Santino D’Antonio (the impeccably dressed Riccardo Scamarcio) wants the spot held by his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini), and orders Wick to eliminate her. It’s a job that Wick describes as “impossible,” but actually proves to be remarkably easy (she actually does the deed for him) — until he tries to escape, only to be cornered by both Gianna’s bodyguard (Common) and D’Antonio’s henchmen.
Perhaps the Continental ought to consider a third rule: Contract holders can’t snuff the assassins they engage, or vice versa. No sooner the task been competed than D’Antonio issues an open contract on Wick, which goes out wide to every assassin in the world (none of whom keep their cell phones on silent), making for an amusing montage as Stahelski reveals just how far the Continental’s network extends. With the exception of one returning character, a look-the-other-way local cop played by Thomas Sadoski, every speaking role is held by someone related in one way or another to this vast underground organization, though some — like the Orthodox Jewish banker who watches over his safety deposit box, or the “sommelier” who deals guns as if they were fine wines — wouldn’t dream of turning a weapon on Wick.
Ironically, the John Wick introduced at the outset of this movie sincerely believes he’s done with violence. Except we’re dealing with Keanu Reeves here, and though he’s acrobatic enough to meet the physical demands of the role, the actor has never in his career managed to convey complex emotion: In this case, Reeves’ version of extreme reluctance looks more like mild constipation, never more pronounced than in the scene where he makes a decision to violate the Continental’s most important rule, knowing full well it will leave him “excommunicado” (a silly word rendered menacing by hotel manager Ian McShane). That said, it might be even more amusing if he’d gotten himself kicked out for overstepping one of the hotel’s unwritten restrictions — specifically, its no-dogs policy.
Peter Debruge
Chief Film Critic
‘John Wick: Chapter 2’: Stylish, hyperviolent, and almost irrationally satisfying.
John Wick, as fans of the eponymous 2014 hit about a ruthlessly efficient assassin already know, once killed three people in a bar, using only a pencil. That legend gets repeated in the new, deliciously stylish and hyperviolent sequel to the live-action comic book, “John Wick: Chapter 2” — but with a twist. If anything, the legend has probably been “watered down” from reality, as one bad guy ruefully notes. Later, the title character, played by a brooding, laconic Keanu Reeves, proves his lethal facility with that same writing implement, in a scene that is sublimely silly, jaw-droppingly brutal and irrationally satisfying.
There was something compulsively watchable about the first “Wick,” which had a mesmerizing intensity — at once noirish and cartoonish — despite the superficial monotony of its plot: a supremely single-minded revenge mission by a retired hit man (Reeves) against the Russian mobster (Alfie Allen) who had killed his dog and stolen his beloved 1969 Ford Mustang. As “Chapter 2” opens, John has a new pup, but his car is still missing. In the first 15 minutes, he gets it back, immediately proceeding to trash it in the process of killing a parade of goons, with the same kind of creativity demonstrated by his flair for the Faber-Castell No. 2. John Leguizamo also returns in a cameo as John’s mechanic. So does the plot from the first film, essentially: Instead of a Russian mobster, John is pitted against an Italian killer (Riccardo Scamarcio), who has once again forced the film’s antihero out of retirement.
Franchise director Chad Stahelski is a former movie stuntman and stunt coordinator, who worked with Reeves on “The Matrix” and its sequels. He has a real genius for action, but not much else. That’s where his screenwriter, Derek Kolstad, comes in.
As he did with the first “Wick,” Kolstad has created a fictional universe in “Chapter 2” that is just recognizable enough to be persuasive. In the mythology of “John Wick,” for example, elite assassins lurk everywhere — in the guise of street people and subway musicians, as well as the ninja-like executioners in bespoke suits who roam the streets. Most deliciously, there is an underground hotel network, called the Continental, that caters exclusively to killers. Conducting “business” is forbidden on the premises, of course, which leads to a comical scene between John and one of his new enemies, played by the rapper-actor Common. After a pitched battle sends them tumbling through the plate glass windows of the posh hotel — where tabs are settled with gold coins — the combatants brush themselves off and retire to the lounge for a stiff drink, glaring at each other with murderous wrath.
It’s a small, artificial world — on one level, it can be read as a metaphor for the precariousness of life — but it’s a fun-filled one, too. It isn’t easy to explain the appeal of the “John Wick” movies, and they are inarguably not for every taste, but there is a purity to them that transcends their barbarity and has something to do with the central character.
Why does he steal back his own car, for instance, only to total it in his effort to get away? For John Wick, a man who otherwise seems amoral, it’s the principle of the thing. Like the movie itself, his goals may not be lofty, but his work ethic — an uncompromising determination and attention to detail — is admirable.
R. At area theaters. Contains strong violence throughout, some coarse language and brief nudity. 122 minutes.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 DELIVERS PLENTY MORE OF WHAT FANS WANT, WHILE FLESHING OUT THE PROPERTY’S MYTHOLOGY AND LORE IN FASCINATING WAYS.
Shortly after retired hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) extracted revenge on Iosef and Viggo Tarasov, leaving many dead bodies in his wake, Wick is ready to truly settle down and live the rest of his days in peace with a new dog by his side. Unfortunately for John, his second attempt at stepping away from his past is short-lived when he is visited by an old acquaintance, Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio). Prior to John’s first retirement, he made a blood oath with Santino to come to his aid when asked. Wick is bound by the rules of the criminal underworld to come back once more and fulfill his promise.
Reluctantly agreeing to his mission, John heads to Rome to take care of the assignment – leaving his pit bull safe and sound in the Continental Hotel back in New York. Arriving in Italy, John quickly learns that if he’s successful in carrying out Santino’s wishes, the consequences are far greater than he ever could have imagined. Slowly but surely, John is pulled back into the world he tried to leave behind, and now he finds himself in a fight for his life.
John Wick:
Chapter 2 is the
sequel to the surprise 2014 sleeper hit John Wick, which impressed many viewers
with its “gun-fu” action sequences and sense of world-building reminiscent of
comic book universes. Though the first film was a relatively straightforward
action film, several saw the potential for a great franchise due to these
various elements, and hoped the followup could deliver on that promise.
Fortunately, John
Wick: Chapter 2 delivers
plenty more of what fans want, while fleshing out the property’s mythology and
lore in fascinating ways.
John Wick writer Derek Kolstad also returns to pen the screenplay, and he is ultimately successful in crafting another entertaining adventure. He strikes the tricky balance of fleshing out the John Wick universe without bogging the proceedings down in an overabundance of backstory and minute details. The way Chapter 2 expands the world is quite interesting as more layers are peeled back to explore. Admittedly, some of the choices made may stretch believability for some viewers, but those small faults are never enough to derail the movie. Additionally, the story is a bit slower-paced this time around and takes some time before it gets going, as John’s motivations are established. That said, when the action kicks in, Chapter Two is a non-stop thrill ride that’s wholly exciting. The sequel doesn’t have as strong an emotional hook as the first movie, but the stakes are still high enough to keep viewers invested and never lose interest.
It goes without saying that Reeves remains one of this generation’s standout action stars, fully committing himself to the role of John Wick. He’s able to convincingly sell just about everything the character does or says, and some of his kills here take things to the next level. Much like the original film, Reeves is able to blend gritty toughness with some moments of levity, sprinkling a periodic chuckle throughout the running time. Ian McShane also shines reprising Winston, manager of the Continental. The veteran actor lends a gravitas that another thespian may not have possessed in the role, giving the franchise an intimidating and stern presence that leaves audiences on the tips of their toes. It’s hard to picture these movies without him, a credit to what McShane has done with a seemingly minor character.
Unfortunately, the rest of the supporting cast is largely hit or miss. Common and Ruby Rose appear as two of John’s rival hitmen trying to track him down, and while they both handle their action scenes nicely, neither really leaves their mark on their characters. Stahelski tries something different with Rose’s Ares, but it ultimately comes off as a more visually interesting way to convey typical henchmen dialogue than anything else. On the flip side, Laurence Fishburne is fun in his small part as the Bowery King. His back-and-forth with Reeves isn’t quite the Matrix reunion some were hoping for, but Fishburne makes the most of what he has to work with and gleefully plays the role with theatricality. Scamarcio is suitable as Santino, but there likewise isn’t a whole lot for him to do. This is Reeves’ show through and through, and he’s able to carry the film to great effect.
In the end, John Wick: Chapter 2 is precisely what fans of the first movie wanted when the sequel was announced. Many of the new concepts introduced to the assassin world feel organic, and the breathtaking action will leave viewers wanting more. Though some may wonder what else Stahelski and company can do with the core premise, Chapter 2 presents a number of intriguing possibilities for future installments, and it will be interesting to see where they decide to take it. In the meantime, action junkies are sure to get a kick out of Chapter 2, and it is definitely worth the price of admission in the theater.
WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW
MOVIE DETAILS
Review: ‘John Wick: Chapter 2,’ a Roman Holiday With Shots Not Sparks
They just couldn’t leave it alone. The original “John Wick,” about an über assassin who’s reluctantly drawn out of retirement, was a near perfect synergy of simple premise and intricate movement — an action movie that danced. But the lightness and winking quality that softened the slaughter are less evident in “John Wick: Chapter 2,” an altogether more solemn affair weighed down by the philosophy that more is always more.
That means almost doubling the body count as John (Keanu Reeves, still superstoic and hyper-pliable) is once again yanked out of seclusion, this time to fulfill a debt to an Italian mobster by killing the mobster’s sister (Claudia Gerini). The plot matters only inasmuch as it allows the returning director, Chad Stahelski, to stage his spectacular fight sequences in various stunning Roman locations, where they unfold with an almost erotic brutality. In this movie, the camera contemplates weaponry with more lip-licking awe than is ever afforded Ms. Gerini’s curves.
John might remind you of James Bond, but he has no interest in the honeys. Carnage is his release, and the camera plays along, gazing up at his aspirational buttocks as he slides a knife from his back pocket, and circling his twisting torso with rapt attention. A brilliantly stylized foreplay sequence is constructed around assassin-related paraphernalia, and both Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne — as the respective heads of separate killing squads — remind us of madams, pimping death across continents.
Some of this world-building is fun, and almost all of it is dazzling, but the emotional sterility of John’s life will burden a franchise. At some point, he’ll have to care about more than his dog.
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