JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2

Director / Chad Stahelski (JOHN WICK)
Stars/ Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Riccardo Scamarcio, Common and Ruby Rose

To the hardcore fans of JOHN WICK – Congratulations and well done! You have successfully contested the decision to release this sequel straight to the home entertainment market here in Australia! An initial decision that has been overturned and now results in JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 making its way into Aussie cinemas this autumn.

Chad Stahelski, who is a stunt man from THE MATRIX TRILOGY, follows up his solid 2014 directional debut in JOHN WICK with this hard-edged second installment of what will be a trilogy. Oh, and a JOHN WICK TV Series that he is currently writing! Resuming four days after the final events from the previous film, former assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is cornered out of retirement when approached by an Italian crime-lord, Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) who has an assignment he needs John Wick to complete.

 

JOHN WICK makes one hell of a return to the big screen throughout a high-octane first half that remains just as physically ferocious in its second half, despite becoming repetitive.

Keanu Reeves can be excused for the terribly wooden delivery of his dialogue courtesy of the unrelenting effort and commitment that he thrusts into this tough-as-nails lead character. Having spent three months training in Judo and Jujitsu, as well as driving and with guns, Reeves performs almost all of the fight scenes in JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 himself. Fisticuffs, knife fights and shoot-outs are aplenty all throughout this sequel. The best of these that will get your juices flowing all happen within the opening hour. An early sequence that begins with a car chase, followed by the devastating impact after the use of a grenade launcher and later on, the set-up and delivery of John’s assignment in Rome, are each superbly staged and executed set-piece sequences. These exciting scenes, which earn the film its cinematic release, do eventually reduce as action scenes contain less variation and the plot begins to thin out from this point onward. Despite the entertainment value not reaching as high a level as before, the locations and production sets used for filming in JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 are put to great use. There is no doubt that these, along with the impressively choreographed fight sequences and its rousing score, enhance the oomph factor this brawny and bloodthirsty movie clearly has.

Well then, the time has come for you devout John Wickians to put your money where your mouth is and go grab yourself a ticket to CHAPTER 2. You will not be disappointed.

3 stars

Viewer Discretion/ MA15+ (Strong action violence)

Trailer / JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2

Moviedoc thanks Studiocanal and Lido Cinemas for the invite to this film screening.

Review by Moviedoc / “LIKE” on Facebook – Moviedoc

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