A whole lot of people get shot in the face in John Wick: Chapter 2, a worthy sequel to the 2014 breakout hit.
A totally bummed-out Keanu Reeves returns as the lone assassin, originally brought out of retirement after somebody killed his dog and stole his car. Many deaths later, Wick is back in his stylish home, with a new (and unnamed) dog, intent upon burying his guns and taking a long break. No such luck: A man from the past shows up with a marker, giving him a killing assignment that will take him to Italy and have him face off with Common. (It turns out Common is built like The Terminator and makes a good villain. Oh, wait … he’s sort of the good guy. Wick is actually a villain.) Balletic violence begins—and never ends.
This time out, Wick is wearing some sort of bulletproof lining under his suit. He was unstoppable before, but now he can take a bullet!
Reeves is the perfect guy for this role, physically believable as an aging yet unstoppable assassin, and great with the stoic line deliveries. He’s in one mode for this movie, and that mode is badass.
Reeves has himself a brand new franchise, and this one is very ripe for the next story. It also has another Reeves franchise guy, Laurence Fishburne, aka Morpheus from The Matrix. Thankfully, this sequel is much better than The Matrix sequels.
John Wick: Chapter 2 is playing at theaters across the valley.