John
Wick: Chapter Two- film review (Spoilers)
I
f you are reading this
blog post and you haven’t seen John Wick: Chapter Two, this is a review that is
filled with spoilers and will discuss multiple plot points about the film and
it would be best to watch the film before reading this article. The first John
Wick was a surprise because it was an action film based on a man who had his
raided and then had his dog killed and car stolen. This was a good film and
some interesting stakes to it. The action was excellent and unexpected because
while most modern action films have shaky cam, this film didn’t have any of
that. The action was well filmed and Keanu Reeves was good as John Wick. The
film was made on a $20-million-dollar budget and because the film made money at
the box office the filmmakers where allowed to make another one, and hence we
have John Wick: Chapter Two. John Wick: Chapter Two is directed by Chad
Stahelski and stars Keanu Reeves, Ruby Rose, Laurence Fishburne, common and Ian
McShane. Chapter Two sees Wick come out of retirement to pay a debt that he
owes someone and when the debt is re-payed by Wick he is betrayed and has a
large bounty placed on his head. There are two questions that need to be
answered with this film, the first would be is this film any good? The second
question would be how good is this film compared to the first one?
The performances in this
film are very good throughout, Keanu Reeves is good as the title character and
there wouldn’t be anyone else who could do the role justice, and while he
doesn’t communicate emotive language like other actors, he lets the action
sequences do the communicate instead. Reeves is good in the role and his acting
while not the best, he isn’t the worst actor in the world. Laurence Fishburne
has a small role in this film, and he is over-the-top in this film and he has
this line which is excellent and explain this because in one sequence he says
“Can someone please give this man a gun”, this line is delivered over the top
and this is pretty much his performance throughout the time that he is
onscreen. The other performances from all the actors are very good and Ian
McShane. There is not much else to say on the performances in this film because
they are all good throughout, and there isn’t really a weak link in this film.
The action sequences
overall are well filmed, directed and edited together for the most part, there
is an issue with the opening car chase sequence where the framing is too tight
and there is some hand-held footage with the tight framing, however this can be
put down to the inexperience of the director because he didn’t film a car chase
sequence to this extent in the first film and this might be the reason why. But
this is a small flaw because the rest of the action is great, it is clear and
well filmed just like the first film. There are a couple of great sequences,
the first would be the first sequence between Wick and Cassian played by
Common. The sequence goes on for a while and it was good to see someone else in
this film who is just as good as Wick in action. The sequence in Rome is
excellent and while the fight on the train is good, this sequence is much
better. The second sequence in this film which is good is when Wick returns to
New York and he has the bounty placed on his head, and as part of the train
fight with Common’s character, Wick is being hunted and we see him use a pencil
to take down a couple of assassins, this links back to the first film when
people discuss that Wick took out three people with a pencil and this was a
standout moment because it looked brutal but it was well filmed. Overall, the
action is just as good as can be there are some excellent moments in this film
and it is refreshing to watch an action film without shaky cam like this. There
is more other than the performances in this film that should be talked about.
Another thing is that the
cinematography in this film is excellent, with some interesting visual elements
like the action sequence that takes place in the mirror house section of the
museum. There are some excellent visual sequences in this film and each shot
has had some thought put into it. The technical aspects of this film have been
done to a high standard, the cinematography makes this a well shot film. There
are more special effects in this film, the CGI that has been put in this film
has been done to a high standard and the CGI looks well done by the artists
with it looking good. The editing is also very well done, the editing is very
competent in the construction, the shots feels natural in length and this is a
good sign that the editing has been done to a great standard. This film doesn’t
have anything wrong with the technical aspect and this is much like the first
film, in that the technical aspects have been done very well.
However, there are some
negatives with this film but the negative aspects with this film are very small
details which aren’t too annoying. The first issue would be the opening car
chase which was discussed earlier in this film, it is too tightly framed and
the hand-held elements make the action difficult to follow but that is the only
issue with the action. The second issue with this would be that the ending
feels anti-climactic, and this is why this is a spoiler review. After Wick has
killed all of the antagonist’s henchmen he heads to the intercontinental, the
hotel where the assassin’s go but there is to be no conflict on site. Wick
heads into the intercontinental and confronts the antagonist with a gun in
hand, and he shoots the antagonist. After this Wick meets Winston, but he
doesn’t kill him like Perkins in the first film and this is due to lazy script
writing, and Wick just runs away. The other issue with this is that the rules
seem to be changed for the main character and the only reason for that would be
because the filmmakers wanted to make another sequel. The final issue would be
that while in Rome, Wick has a new suit fitted and the suit is bulletproof and
the only reason for this would be because the character doesn’t get hurt as
much. That is great, but the moment that happens it feels more like a Bond film
than a sequel to John Wick and this isn’t a Bond film. These are small issues
with the film and other than these little issues the film is excellent.
Overall, John Wick:
Chapter Two is just as good as the original film with small issues, but this is
a film which is excellent from start to finish without many low points. This
film will be responsible for two things going onwards from here, the first
would be that a sequel will happen which will just be as good as this one, and
second will be that there will be a resurgence is well filmed and directed
action films like this, and eventually we will move away from the shaky cam
that started with the Bourne films and this is good. John Wick: Chapter Two is
a film that great and there aren’t many action films like this in the current
time and hopefully other studios are listening and watching because this is an
example of how to make an action film to a high standard.
Rating: 8/10
John Wick: Chapter Two is
a film which has some excellent sequences, some excellent world building and is
the prime example of how to make an action film with good action. There are
only those small issues with this film and therefore it can’t be ranked any
lower because of them. Chapter Two is just as good as the first film and it is
hard to make a sequel that comes close to the original because usually the
sequel is often worse than the first but this is not the case.
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