John Wick 2 (2017) – Review

When John Wick (Keanu Reeves) finds himself bound to a debt he must repay, he ultimately accepts an offer of a job in Rome, despite his heavy reluctance. When the job is finished however, he becomes victim of a double-crossing and must escape while he still has his life in his own hands. This is the second movie of the John Wick series and much like the first, it’s a terrific advert for modern day action movies.  

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Director: Chad Stahelski
Writers: Derek Kolstad
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ruby Rose, Laurence Fishburne

In terms of the story and plot, it’s fair to say that the second installment of the John Wick franchise definitely had a slightly different theme compared to the first – John Wick 1 (2014). The second installment certainly had more of a double-crossed premise, whereas the first had a straightforward revenge plot. With that being said however, revenge was still prevalent throughout this one too.

The action scenes were every bit as impressive as the first flick, if not better, and the filmmakers did a great job of introducing one or two new characters into the fold too. Another strength of the movie was the fact that more of the John Wick “universe” was uncovered and explained to the viewer – it became quickly apparent that the organised crime operation wasn’t just happening within the United States and consequently, a large chunk of this film took place on location in the beautiful city of Rome, Italy.

Something that some flicks of this nature are guilty of at times is providing a poor soundtrack and a bunch of poor, unrealistic sounds of the weapons that make up a large portion of these pictures – this, however, was different. The soundtrack really complimented the action sequences, along with each of the various weapons being used, sounding very real and very authentic from start to finish.

Much like in the first, John Wick 2 also had a really good supporting cast, this time in the form of appearances from Ruby Rose and Laurence Fishburne, who adopted the roles of Ares and Bowery, respectively. As usual, Keanu Reeves portrayed John Wick superbly, despite the limited dialogue handed to him throughout the one-hundred and two minute runtime.

All in all, John Wick 2 was a superb sequel and answered a lot of questions that carried over from the first film, along with leaving some unanswered questions for a third film, John Wick 3 (2019).

“You wanted me back… I’m back!”

John Wick – John Wick 2