Reflections of the Soul: JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2 Movie Review
"I'll kill them all."
John Wick: Chapter 2 is a force of nature. Bigger, meaner, more operatic, and longer than its predecessor, it is a near perfect example of everything that a sequel should aspire to be. The first John Wick was a surprisingly good movie, and Chapter 2 doubles down on everything there was to love about the first one- the mythology, the action, and the emotional core of its character- and takes it to the next level, joining the ranks of titans like Mad Max Fury Road and The Raid 2 as one of the finest action movies of the 2010’s.
The story this time around concerns the titular unstoppable hitman picking back up the life he wants to leave behind, as he must go on a dangerous mission to take down a target for an old acquaintance. From there, lots of mayhem and badassery ensues, and John has to overcome overwhelming odds if he wants to be able to survive. A derivative setup for a sequel, sure, but director Chad Stahelski knows that the action is the main attraction, and he wisely avoids getting bogged down in an overly convoluted narrative, using plot merely as a means to an end (or a MacGuffin) to showcase beautifully gruesome carnage.
If you saw the first film, you’d know that the action sequences in it (i.e. the night club shootout) were already of a very high caliber. Chapter 2, however, raises the stakes and ups the ante in every possible way, featuring some of the most expressive, varied, and well-coordinated choreography you will ever see. I must have uttered expletives about a half-dozen different times while I watched this because I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. The set-pieces are so insane that they almost get to the point of cartoonish absurdism, but they manage to stay just grounded enough and maintain the audience’s suspension of disbelief thanks to being self-aware and having incredible practical stunt work, perfectly coherent editing, and stable, pristine wide shots that ensure that spatial coherence is left completely intact (no shaky-cam to be found here!). Simply put, it’s a clinic on how to film action right. And even though the violence is in a sense very over-the-top, it still feels extremely visceral and meaningful. It's not just fun and games; the firing of every bullet, the throwing of every punch, and the penetration of every knife in the flesh hits and it hits HARD because of the emotionality attached to it. Keanu Reeves once again carries the role with all the finesse and physicality that it requires without showing any signs of slowing down, even at the age of 52. He may not be the best actor around, but the sheer commitment and effort this man puts into his physical acting is something to be admired and treasured. He was born to play John Wick.
That being said, none of the action, no matter how amazing it is, would have any weight if the rest of the movie were boring and we didn’t care about what was going on. Gratefully, what the story may lack in originality or complexity, it more than makes up for in its worldbuilding. The fictional universe that John Wick takes place in is a fascinating one that feels like a comic book a lot of the time, but what makes it unique are the rules, the mysteriousness of everyone’s past, and the inner-workings of the Continental and the secret (?) society of assassins that John is a part of. It’s all undeniably alluring, and this movie explores those dynamics in a thoroughly satisfying way, making you crave to learn even more about it. Aesthetically, Chapter 2 is also very appealing, retaining the same cool, sleek, noirish look of the first film but throwing in lots of neon and colors for good measure. The cinematography is likewise inventive and many shots are downright jaw-dropping to look at.
And yet, John Wick: Chapter 2 is a profoundly Hellish movie. John is a man searching for peace, but everywhere he goes, he is surrounded only by suffering and death, his fate resigned to being a killing machine whose only purpose comes from his never-ending quest for vengeance. True, John is largely forced to do what he has to do in this movie, but part of him can’t let go of the past; he actively needs that bloodshed in his life because he is the Baba Yaga and nothing else. The stunning Reflections of the Soul climax, then, represents John confronting not just his literal enemy in the film, but his own worst figurative enemy, himself, in an endless house of mirrors where image and reflection, stillness and motion, action and reaction, become blurred together into a kaleidoscopic abstraction of the self and the other. It’s an ultra-violent ballet of headshots and gun-fu, a Greek tragedy written in blood (pay attention to how often characters are framed against classical art and architecture in the background), and death, it seems, may be the only refuge in the inevitable Chapter 3.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2 (4.5 stars out of 5)