John Wick Chapter 2 Keanu Reeves Hitman Returns with Bonecrunching Glorious Violence
In John Wick Chapter 2, Keanu Reeves' John Wick does more walking than driving. This is a man who loves fast cars, and in the movie's dazzling opening sequence, he takes one for a spinand a crash and a bangwith crazy-cool eln. But mostly, Wickthe quintessential hitman who wants only to retire, and whom we first met as a ruthless-yet-tender puppy-death avenger in the surprise 2014 hit that bears his namegets around the old-fashioned way, on foot, as if willing himself to slow down in a world that's spinning too fast. Who hasn't felt that way? The pleasures of John Wick Chapter 2 may be even greater than those of its predecessoritself a symphonic achievement in scrappy, balls-out, action filmmakingbecause in this one, there's no puppy murder to endure. There is a dog in Chapter 2, the stocky pitbull-mix that Wick freed from a cage at the end of the first film, but animal lovers have nothing to fear He's protected from all harm. It's lovers of humankind who are put to the test. John Wick Chapter 2 asks the classic pulp questionAre human beings worth saving?and delivers, with the right proportions of joy and sorrow, the classic pulp answer Sometimes, no. At the beginning of Chapter 2, Wick retrieves his beloved vintage Mustang from the Russian baddies who stole it in the first movie, though neither man nor car emerges scratch-free. He drives the highly compromised vehicle homeor, rather, chugs it hometo that big, featureless house, seen in the first movie, which appears to be somewhere on Long Island. There he's greeted by his dog, a muscular beauty with a big, lapping tongue and lustrous fur that's a cross between chocolate and smoke. But almost before Wick has even had a chance to toss the obligatory tennis ball, he's paid a visit by mobster Santino Riccardo Scamarcio, a member of the syndicate Wick is hoping to escape. It turns out Wick owes Santino a debt. Next thing we know, he's walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, dog in tow, toward Manhattan. Don't look to John Wick Chapter 2 for geographical realism The point is that Wick is a man of action. He's not one to wait for the bus. For efficiency's sake he does, however, take a plane to Rome, the first leg in his adventure. Upon arrival he meets with a sommelier who has a nose for weapons and a tailor who specialized in bulletproof suits. At last ready for work, he heads out to a drowsy-decadent catacomb nightclub, where he tangles with a sultry mob princess Claudia Gerini and her glamorous bodyguard, played, wonderfully, by Common In one stunning and witty hand-to-hand-combat sequence, they tumble down at least three sets of stone Roman stairs, grunting and grabbing at one another all the way, pausing briefly at each landing to land a few extra kicks and punches. It's a sublime verse-chorus-verse of brutality. If actors, or even just people, become the sum of their experiences, then this is what a mindful action star looks like Reeves looks and moves like someone who's been somewhere. Wick is a man of few words, most of them along the lines of "I'm not that guy anymore." Every time he opens his mouth to speak, he's like a monk getting ready to break his vow of silencesometimes only words will do, but whenever possible, he prefers showing to telling. The violence of John Wick Chapter 2 is mostly semi-comical, but it's also occasionally intense. Beware the eewky pencil-jabbing scene. Yet Reeves is dazzling in his consistency He knows what's awful and what's funny about every scenario, cluing us in with an invisible wink. Sometimes his John Wick is a relentless killer, but other times he'll spare a life, his mercy meted out with knife-point precision. Sometimes he's like a pitcher winding up on the mound, his coiled energy finding its release both in bold movements and in gradations so subtle they can't be seen with the naked eye. Other times, he's more like a lazy cheetah, ready to run but preferring not to. The most beautiful moments in John Wick Chapter 2 are the simplest, basically the sight of a guy walkingor runningwith his dog at his side, each keeping pace with the other. Where are they headed next? It's a mystery written in muscle and bone, and in blood, too.