Siraj Syed reviews John Wick-Chapter 2: His WICked WICKed ways

First tell me, do you have problems with one man shooting down one two hundred, over five encounters, forty each per encounter? Is it fine with you that every time Wick shoots, it’s bull’s eye, while all the shots fired by the Wicked men and women miss the target, and when they do hit pay-dirt, they bounce off his armour? Fine? No problems? Welcome to John Wick 2, a treat for you.

This is Chapter 2, so you must recall Chapter 1, if you want to make better sense of the proceedings (not much better, I am afraid). Jonathan ‘John’ Wick’s beloved wife Helen has recently died of an illness. At home, John receives a special delivery, which is the last gift from his wife, an adorable puppy that becomes his pride and joy. One day, John goes to the gas station in his '69 Mustang, and the Russian gangster and car-runner Iosef Tarasov asks the price he wants for his car. John replies that the car is not for sale. During the night, Iosef, who is the son of the powerful Russian mobster Viggo, breaks into John's house with other gangsters, beats up John, kill his precious dog, and steals his car. Iosef discovers that John Wick was an unbeatable hit man, who used to work for his father. John has a reputation as the guy you hire to kill the Bogey-Man, and Iosef soon realises that he messed with the wrong person. Now, John Wick has lost everything he loved and wants the head of Iosef.

Cut to Chapter 2. A car and a motorbike, both hurtling at breakneck speed. Chase. Biker killed by car occupant, and something removed from his pocket. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) tracks down his stolen Mustang at a chop-shop owned by Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare), brother of Viggo and uncle of Iosef. After dispatching Tarasov's men in a violent fight that heavily damages his car, John spares Tarasov calling peace and ending the feud. He calls Aurelio (John Leguizamo) to take his battered car away for extensive repairs

Later, John is visited by Italian crime lord Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio). It is revealed that years ago, to complete his "impossible task", retire and get married, John had asked for a big favour from D'Antonio. The debt is signified by a "Marker," bearing John’s blood imprint on a large coin like metallic medal, denoting an agreement to offer his services once, if called to do so. D'Antonio now plans to collect, insisting that John has to come out of retirement. John refuses to return the favour, intending to retire for good, but Santino destroys his home with a grenade launcher, as a warning. Having already buried his weapons cache, he is now left with only a dog, who has no name.

He seeks advice and help from Winston (Ian McShane), the owner of the Continental Hotel in New York City. Winston reminds John that if he rejects the Marker, he will be violating one of the two unbreakable rules of the underworld: no killing on Continental ground, and all Markers must be honoured. John meets with D'Antonio, who tasks him with assassinating his own sister Gianna D'Antonio (Claudia Gerini), who is in Rome, so he can take her seat on the "High Table," a council of high-level crime lords. John has no choice.

Writer Derek Kolstad (two Dolph Lundgren films—One in the Chamber and The Package). John Wick was a character named after Kolstad’s real grandfather, who, incidentally, was no mobster) is a man who worked his way up after a 15-year struggle, and seems to have it made, for Chapter 3 is in the offing. The ending of Part 2 and the recent official announcement leave little doubt about it.

Kolstad has said in an interview that the script for the first instalment underwent “a hundred” rewrites. Backers of the project wanted two key changes. John Wick, in the movie, was originally a man in his sixties, whose wife had died years earlier, and had an older dog, not a puppy, that had been with him since his wife died. They changed that two a young man in, since Reeves (then 50, now 52) was on board, and a puppy. Incidentally, a full-grown dog was introduced in Chapter 2, as some sort of retrospective compensation.

In Chapter 2, he has some interesting twists: Ares, a completely dispassionate fighter-killer, is a deaf-mute woman; Gianna’s death is imaginatively played out; Wick’s preparations for the contract killing are immaculate and anticipatory; the placing of bets and bounties as a regular underworld activity, with a network of telephone operators at the back-end. On the other hand, he stumbles by leaving Wick vulnerable, neck upwards, and still evading a thousand bullets; the practical absence of any lawmen in the melees; the reworking of a Charles Dickens scenario as a network of beggar-criminals; the completely un-necessary tribute to Enter the Dragon(hall of mirrors); the running around of Santino without any weapon when so many are lying around. Discredited could be apportioned with the director, but not some of it must go to the writer too.

After co-directing JW1, stuntman Chad Stahelski makes his solo director debut. He knows his stunts, and it shows all along. John Wick Chapter 2 is a two-hour hurdles race, the kind you might have to get through if you want to join a crack marine army or a secret group of bounty hunters in modern day covert warfare. Along with editor Evan Schiff and Danish cinematographer Dan Laustsen, , he is able to roll his protagonist along a razor’s edge, while ensuring that audiences remain on the edges of their seats. The inter-cutting of Wick’s picking his weapons and giving measurements to his designer bullet-proof suit is brilliant. Some gentle humour manages to get a foot-hold in this fracas, but Stahelski lets repetition creep in too, especially in the code-word routines and the manner of composing his bullet-spraying chases.

Keanu Reeves needs martial arts and a permanent sneer, along with deeply intonated one-liner retorts, to crash through this one. He is too much of a veteran to find any challenge in the process. And by, after the Neon Demon dud, he needed a bankable wick to set afire his ambitions again. Common (Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. In real life; Terminator Salvation, Now You See Me, Selma) is the one who captures your imagination, even as he is shown just running, shooting and fisti-cuffing--common sights in any action drama, uncommon when he puts so much of raw energy into it. Laurence Fishburne (Man of Steel, Batman v/s Superman, Passengers), for once, gets to come out of his mechanical, good Samaritan act, and seems to be enjoying himself.

Riccardo Scamarcio as the well oiled, slick, suave villain, with a deceptively sweet visage, acquits himself well. Australian model and DJ Ruby Rose (Langenheim; Resident Evil-The Final Chapter, XXX Return of Xander Cage) shows potential, only to see her peter down to a stereo-type female fighter, in the James Bond kind of femme fatality.

Ian McShane is polished. Lance Reddick as Charon, the black concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York, might have more to show for his short screen-time here in the trequel. (A prequel is possible too, considering where Chapter 1 begins). Claudia Gerini makes a striking Gianna, though I have a feeling that the Indian censors have snipped out any noticeable display of her assets. Peter Stormare reminds us of the Russians as delineated in any other gangster flick, while it is good to see old-timer Franco Nero (Italian, now 75, Sergio Corbucci’s favourite ‘spaghetti cowboy’) in a cameo.

Suspend all disbelief, kill all logic, prepare for an adrenaline rush, and enjoy the mounting body count. After all, compared to the number of 'enemies' eliminated in video games every two hours, John Wick-Chapter 2 is sanitised fare.

Rating: *** ½

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMqETeQrgqU