John Wick: Kapitel 2 (2017)

John Wick: Kapitel 2: Directed by Chad Stahelski. With Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ian McShane, Ruby Rose. After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life.

“A film with more head-shots than words spoken, John Wick: Chapter 2 is just about the most violent film Iu0026#39;ve seen in quite some time. But it knows exactly what it wants to do, and succeeds immensely.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKeanu Reeves isnu0026#39;t one of the best actors working today, and I donu0026#39;t think he would disagree with that statement. But heu0026#39;s no doubt one of the most committed actors out there. Thereu0026#39;s no more than a few pages of total spoken dialogue throughout u0026#39;Chapter 2u0026#39;, and Reeves has probably a maximum of 30 lines, all of which arenu0026#39;t necessarily delivered as well as they should be. But it doesnu0026#39;t ultimately matter. Sure, John Wick could be a better franchise if the scripts were of the same caliber as say a Bond or a Bourne movie, but thatu0026#39;s not really why you go see one of these movies. You go to see Keanu Reeves kick some butt amidst some of the best choreographed action in cinema.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eChapter 2 picks up not too long after the first film ends as Wick is somewhat enjoying his life as a u0026quot;retiredu0026quot; assassin. If the first film was about him coming back to seek revenge, this film is Wick reluctantly coming back because he owes a debt to another assassin. I donu0026#39;t think the filmmakers truly could have imagined this would be a franchise off the bat, but itu0026#39;s sure shaping up to be quite the intriguing universe. The one thing that has always struck me as appealing in this series is the way they portray the world Wick lives in. Yes, itu0026#39;s present day, but the world that surrounds Wick is heightened to make for more exciting action (itu0026#39;s essentially a world full of super assassins). But at the same time, the films are incredibly grounded with reality. Itu0026#39;s that balance that so few films can accomplish to this particular level.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTaking the famous Liam Neeson line u0026quot;I will kill youu0026quot; to a whole new level, Wick claims u0026quot;I will kill them allu0026quot;. And thatu0026#39;s pretty much your movie. Wick doesnu0026#39;t want to come back, he owes a debt and is forced to return for one more kill, and then the bounty on his head reaches just about everyone linked to The Continentalu0026#39;s database. The rest of the movie is Wick delivering killing blows to just about anyone who stands in his way in the most creative ways possible. Isnu0026#39;t it about time people leave this guy alone? Overall, John Wick: Chapter 2 promised visceral action (all impressively in camera- yeah, Iu0026#39;m looking at you Resident Evil) and we got just that. Even if the dialogue can be clunky and the performances are over the top, it doesnu0026#39;t really matter. What matters is this series continues to be a pleasant surprise in an age where great action movies are too few and far between.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e+Insanely well-done actionu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e+Tops the first filmu0026#39;s scopeu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e+The universe Derek Kolstad has builtu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Some dialogue is bland and even lazyu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e8.6/10”