“John Wick Chapter 2” REVIEW with Marcos

The Boogeyman is back.

“John Wick: Chapter 2′ is a 2017 action film that brings viewers back into the high action world of a retired assassin, John Wick. After the events of the first movie, Wick is now trying to put the pieces of his life back together but yet again he is brought back into the world of killing. It is a really great action movie because everything is so deliberate and every action has a reaction and you see it. Everything is perfectly choreographed and the cinematography allows you to see it. The cast is on point in all of their scenes and it is thoroughly enjoyable to spend more time in this heightened world.

Check out our full conversation below.

Marcos: 4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Suneel: 4.3⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

The action is clearly the star of the film and the director Chad Staheleski clearly knows how to showcase action to make it look almost poetic. The best part of watching this movie is the match between the quality of action and the way it is filmed to showcase the punches and bullets. Every hit makes its mark and whether it is through editing, acting, sound design or other aspects of the film you really feel the impact. Marcos really enjoyed the Coliseum fight scene for the fact that there is just so much, whether it is hand to hand, pistol work, rifle work or shotgun awesomeness, everything is executed to perfection. We both also loved the end mirror hallway fight as you get the unease that you never know if you are looking at the real version or a fake. For me, I just think that opening car fight scene just really stuck out for me just in the way that it perfectly set the tone for the rest of the movie.

The cast is overall well put together and it features a good combination of returning members from the first movie as well as introducing new characters into the world. 2 of our favourite introductions was Common as Cassian, a fellow assassin who is only at odds with Wick because of who he is working for. He fills out the role great and his fight scene against Wick just is so awesome and memorable for the complete absurdity that happens as they engage in battle. The second really awesome addition is Lawrence Fishbourne as the Bowery King and while he plays this recluse, underworld mob boss substitute it is overall fun to see the connection the two have. Going all the way back to The Matrix, it is obvious him and Keanu have chemistry. The rest of the cast was overall enjoyable but for me the standout was Ruby Rose, playing Ares in the film which makes her even more badass. This is the first project I have seen he shines. There is something about having a mute assassin that makes her even more dangerous and from the first moment she is on the screen she makes her presence known and you as a viewer are just anticipating the conflict or connection.

There is a definite James Bond feeling that arises as you are watching the film. Whether it is from when he is preparing himself for his first hit in the movie or the action scenes there are many homages and nods to action films such as Bond and many more. Where this movie excels is its execution. Apparently all of the stars when through multiple months of gun and fight training and for someone like Keanu Reeves, he has been training his entire life so something like this is the logical continuation for his skills. There are videos online that you can watch of this training and it is almost as good as the film because of the skill that Reeves is executing different gun play techniques and attacks. The sound editing/mixing is just as skilled as everything else in the movie. We went to the Dolby Atmos Theater and you could just feel every impact. Every bullet hit his mark and the sound really allows for the significance of each hit to be expanded. The sounds always match and drives the story forward, everything is on-the-go.

Everything that we are shown drives the plot forward and everything is efficient. There is a simplicity to seeing action and reaction in the scenes and the movie shines for it.