Reload, by Bob Connally

2014’s John Wick was not an ordinary action film. The directorial debut of longtime stunt coordinator and second unit director Chad Stahelski not only presented action in a unique way, it created a fascinating world populated by characters that were intriguing from the moment we met them. Primarily though, it was an action film as a character study of a man who had gotten out of a world seemingly no one gets out of and what happens when returning to it- “Just visiting” as he puts it- is the only choice he has.

Picking up very shortly after the end of the first film, John Wick: Chapter 2 opens with an incredible action sequence that manages to be rousing, funny, and tie up the loose ends John had left over from his personal war with the Tarasov crime family. John wants to finally live in peace with his new dog- whom he hasn’t named yet- and get his beloved Mustang repaired. A blood oath he’d previously made to Italian crime boss Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) unfortunately makes that impossible. John’s refusal to follow through with the promise he’d made years before (“I’m not that guy anymore”) makes things worse for him, until he can only finally reluctantly accept and go back to the life he’d left behind.

Directed by Stahelski and written by Derek Kolstad (writer of the first film), John Wick: Chapter 2 does what any good sequel should do. Instead of simply going bigger and louder- though it does that too- it digs deeper into the soul of John Wick while expanding the world created by the original. Like the first movie, Chapter 2 uses its many action sequences to move the story forward and to show us who John and the people trying to kill him really are. These scenes are dazzling on a pure action level as well. Stahelski excels at giving us the hyper-charged fast-paced fights of a Bourne movie without the shaky cam. We are able to clearly see and register everything that’s happening and given the way that these films use action, it is essential to the storytelling that we are able to do so. Also, while the action is even more plentiful and creative than in the first film (no easy feat), it never feels like Kolstad and Stahelski are throwing everything up to and including the kitchen sink at us. This isn’t more just for the sake of it, which is all the more impressive considering that Chapter 2 is 21 minutes longer than the first film.

In the title role, Keanu Reeves proves once again that he is a better actor than many people over the years- myself included- have given him credit for. He is able to communicate so much while saying relatively little. Reeves brings us in so that we not only root for a ruthless killer, we identify with him. More layers are revealed throughout this second film. We’re not just interested in John Wick, we are riveted and fully invested in him. The great weight he carries with him is felt throughout the movie and his very honest response to the question of whether or not he “fear[s] damnation,” has real power to it. Still, Wick does have a sense of humor and Reeves plays it with just the right touch. There are no snappy one-liners or post-murder puns, just the periodic low-key remark that feels believable and in character.

The rest of the cast ranges from solid to wonderfully over the top. Laurence Fishburne has a small but delicious role as a man who could be either John’s friend or foe, depending on what’s best for him. Ian McShane and Lance Reddick return in their roles as the owner and desk clerk of the New York Continental hotel for hit men, respectively. Each is a delight to watch, just as they were the first time around.

John Wick is a very good movie. John Wick: Chapter 2 is an even better and more satisfying film on every level. Stahelski has grown as a filmmaker while Kolstad has mined the depths of his world and characters much further than before. I am very excited to see what comes next not only for the character of John Wick but for Stahelski and Kolstad in their careers to come. Fans of good action films should be in for something very special.