Wick-ipedia

A third John Wick movie is just around the corner. I don't necessarily have plans to see it, but it seemed like it might be time to get around to John Wick: Chapter 2.

My expectations for this sequel were fairly low. I'd found the original to be middling at best. The bare bones plot didn't really bother me, though I felt like there wasn't enough variety in the fight choreography to carry the missing weight of a deeper story.

The creative forces behind this unexpected franchise surely weren't looking to please me -- but the adjustments they made to this follow-up seemed to be aimed squarely at my quibbles with the first movie. First, the plot was a bit more involved. It's still just a framework to hold action sequences, but this time it incorporates assassination, frame jobs, rival agents, and criminal politics. I found it a bit more engaging than the simple vengeance story of the original.

More importantly for fans of the franchise, the action is more amped up in this movie too. The movie serves up a car chase, fist fights, and plenty of gunplay, and does a better job of putting different moves into each sequence. Some of these go on perhaps a bit too long, but I suppose this is what you came here to see, so it's hard to argue with it.

In my view, the biggest step up from the first film is in the visuals. This movie takes a chunk of the action to Italy. This, combined with more ingenuity throughout, gives a much broader range of settings for the action. The cinematography is stronger too, with interesting camera moves and great lighting of the more dramatic environments. There's a lot to look at on screen besides the fighting.

Still, there isn't a lot of meat to sink your teeth into here. None of the characters are on any meaningful character arc. No one learns anything beyond "don't mess with John Wick" (and most who learn that don't get to live with that knowledge). There's pretty good fun. (The Matrix reunion of Laurence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves alone is a cheeky delight.) But there just isn't much substance to go with the style.

As I did like Chapter 2 better than John Wick, I suppose I'd grade the movie a B-. Some might say that for me, and this type of movie, that's a ringing endorsement. But chances are the people who'd most enjoy it saw it long before me. And, no doubt, will beat me to the third chapter too.