Director: Chad
Stahelski
Notable Cast: Keanu
Reeves, Common, Laurence Fishburne, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ruby Rose, Ian McShane,
John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick, Peter Stormare, Franco Nero, Claudia Gerini,
Peter Serafinowicz
John Wick was the
kind of film that stood out in the sea of action cinema because it used its
tropes and understood its history to present a film that was as artful in
action as it was efficient in its narrative. It used subtle world building and
a snowballing momentum of reveal and unleash the power of a classic action hero
in a world that was over the top, but was presented in such a way that it was
real to those involved. John Wick:
Chapter 2 hones in what every action sequel attempts to do. It’s faster,
bigger, and meaner. For all intensive purposes, it accomplishes, in spades,
what so many action sequels attempt to do and generally falter at. This is
world exploration, fresh and even more visually artistic than its predecessor,
and it still understands why audiences connected with the first one. In many
ways it’s the expansion of the universe that makes it so much fun to watch and
it still delivers on all of the action fronts.