JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (2017)

Genre: Action
Running Length: 2:02
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Common, Ruby Rose, Ian McShane, Claudia Gerini
Director: Chad Stahelski
Screenplay: Derek Kolstad

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 is more of the same, which to me, is not something I was looking forward to. The only thing I marginally enjoyed about the first movie is how its action scenes were filmed. It reminded me of the good old yesteryear Hong Kong action flicks; you can actually see Reeves moving smoothly from shooting to punching to throw downs in one take. The audience know what's happening as oppose to the recent action movies which favours shaky cameras and kinetic editing.

But what I didn't like was watching Wick eliminate a stream of baddies over and over again, which became a tiresome experience after awhile. In this instalment, there's more of these moments. Watching Wick dispatch waves of henchmen reminds me of watching a video game. After a while, you just feel desensitized. I didn't feel the pain when the baddies gets their head shot or their chest stabbed (but the pencil scene...ouch)

The violence here is gratuitous. Sadly, I preferred watching the violence to seeing Reeves act. His version of the reluctance for his character to go back to his old violent ways looks more like he was having constipation. Keanu Reeves.cannot.act. It was so painful for me to watch.

Thankfully, this movie doesn't take itself too seriously. The scenes where Wick suits up and weaponised provided some lighter moments. There is also a standout scene in a bar involving Common and Reeves. Come to think of it, their scenes are the most memorable.

Just like the sequel to The Raid, John Wick: Chapter 2 expands its universe from a hotel in New York to an underworld of organised crime (with its own gold coin currency. Pretty cool, I must say). And just like The Raid also, the John Wick series is nothing but a series of action choreography strung together with a weak narrative. Action junkies would love this movie.

RATING: 4/10