Friday 10 February 2017

John Wick: Chapter 2 ... Speeding into oblivion

"I'LL kill them, I'll kill them all."
   Assassin John Wick (a morose Keanu Reeves) utters this at the end of violent film John Wick: Chapter 2, directed by Chad Stahelski. I'm not sure why someone decided to make this sequel.
    It could be to satiate viewers' lust for blood. There's not much exposition in this film, and whatever dialogue present is strictly functional.

  There's mumbo jumo about a promisory note and revenge in a secret world of assassins, but the film's sole purpose is to show as much blood as possible in the most goriest way.
    Therefore, bullets pierce bodies and heads with alarming routine, and even a pencil makes a walk-on role. The violence in this film would make Mel Gibson proud.
  Naturally, Wick exhibits terrific flexibility and ability to withstand knocks. He can hit anyone with deadly accuracy but hundreds of bullets just whiz by him. I started yawning at the midway point.
   Reeve is entering the elderly tough guy age, aiming to emulate Liam Neeson and Sean Penn. He's as dashing as he was in Speed, with the same gruff one-syllable responses. He was nice to look at some time ago, but he looks ragged and tired now.
  Wick's mourning the death of his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan) and wants to quit the
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is speeding into danger.
industry, but is persuaded otherwise by Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), who makes him homeless by blowing up  his architecturally-gorgeous and minimalist home.
   Santino wants Wick to take out his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini) in Rome so he can replace her at some Table.
   This kicks off Wick's descend into hell. The film goes into hyperdrive with a flurry of bullets and close-combat fights. There's no way Wick can survive this, but for the purpose of suspending our belief, we go along with the ludicrousness of it all.

1 1/2 out of 5 stars

 
 
 
 

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