This film is to the first John Wick what Aliens is to Alien – bigger, bolder and, surprisingly, even better than the original. Described by Keanu Reeves himself as “delightfully ridiculous”, this is simply one of the best action films I’ve seen in recent years.

Premise: In the first film, former hitman John Wick was warned that if he came out of retirement, there’d be no going back. Now, after having settled his vendetta against the Tarasov crime family, a figure from his past comes back to call in a debt that John has no choice but to repay, no matter what the cost.

Verdict:

The first John Wick film was a sleeper hit, and I have to confess, it completely passed me by originally, and I only discovered it on Blu-ray some time later. On the surface, it was a fairly standard revenge action-thriller, and could have so easily been just another generic entry in that sub-genre. But the three things that really elevated it were (a) Keanu Reeves’ commitment to doing so much of the action stunt-work himself, (b) the strong vein of black humour that ran through the film, and (c) the almost fantastical and otherworldly secret underground criminal society it depicted, where hitmen socialised with each other on “neutral territory”, and paid for services with elaborate gold coins. The good news is, Chapter 2 takes those elements, and turns the dial up to 11.

The first film, in comparison, was still fairly grounded in reality insofar as John’s civilian life, and even the world of the Tarasov crime family, all took place in the “real world”, and we just saw glimpses of the secret underworld surrounding the Continental Hotel, run by the enigmatic Winston (Ian McShane).

“…‘Chapter 2’ really builds upon the mythology from the first film…”

Chapter 2, on the other hand, takes these concepts and really runs with them. We learn, for example, that the New York Continental isn’t the only Continental Hotel, and we also learn more about those that helped John Wick complete the “impossible task” that allowed him to buy his freedom five years ago. We learn of the existence of the “High Table”, comprised of the unseen heads of the various criminal empires, and Laurence Fishburne even appears as an unexpected character in an onscreen reunion with his Matrix co-star Keanu Reeves. We’re also introduced to the concept of a “Marker”, a blood debt that can be called in, no questions asked. In fact, as Winston confirms, the only two unbreakable rules of the underworld are that Markers must be honoured, and that no business is ever to be carried out on Continental property.

Chapter 2 really builds upon the mythology from the first film – and it is a mythology, with characters named after mythological figures (such as Ares, the Greek god of war, and Charon, the Greek ferryman who took the dead to the underworld in return, fittingly, for a coin) as nice nods to these inspirations. The John Wick film series is no longer just another revenge action-thriller, it’s now about an unseen worldwide criminal underworld, hidden from view in plain sight. Whereas so many sequels are just a re-tread of what worked in the original, this is one that (like Aliens) takes the original concept to a whole new, and unexpected, level.

“…it also doesn’t take itself too seriously…”

And this ridiculous concept – and it is ridiculous – only works because the film has its tongue firmly in its cheek. No don’t get me wrong, this is not a spoof or a parody by any stretch of the imagination – but it also doesn’t take itself too seriously. This is made abundantly clear in the opening segment, where John goes to war with the last of the Tarasov crime family, now headed up by Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare), brother of Viggo from the first film, in order to recover his beloved stolen car. We watch John dispatch a seemingly endless parade of goons in increasingly creative ways, all while Abram relates the story of why John is called the “Baba Yaga” and how, one time, he killed three men “with a f***ing pencil”.

This playful spirit of black comedy and fun permeates the whole film – in another memorable scene, two hitmen are taking pot-shots at each other with silenced weapons in a crowded public area, while the civilians all walk along completely oblivious. This is a film that isn’t meant to be taken seriously, and it’s all the better for it.

“…some of the most visually impressive action sequences I’ve seen…”

One person who has taken the film very seriously, however, is Keanu Reeves, as the guy has clearly trained for months in preparation for this film. You can see You Tube videos of Keanu’s firearms training, where he’s said to now be up to the standard of a competitive target shooter. He and stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski also decided that the best way to “fake” being good at martial arts was to get good for real, so he could then apply that training to whatever fight choreography they came up with for the film. And the end result is simply some of the most visually impressive action sequences I’ve seen in a film since The Raid films.

Ever since Paul Greengrass directed The Bourne Supremacy (which is a film I love), Hollywood has approached fight sequences in a very similar fashion – close up handheld cameras to get you “in amongst the action”, and lots of quick, frenetic cuts so that the fight is really constructed in the editing suite rather than on set. In the John Wick films, however, Chad Stahelski has adopted a style more akin to Asian martial arts cinema – wide shots to show all the action in a single frame, and long cuts to show an entire action sequence without interruption. This leaves the actors with nowhere to hide – but what’s abundantly clear in Chapter 2 is that Keanu Reeves has nothing to hide. For a guy who’s turned 52, he is incredible – and Chapter 2 needs to be seen to be believed in terms of what he’s physically capable of.

Another joy of the John Wick films is the great actors they get to cameo in what are, essentially, very minor roles. In addition to Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Peter Stormare and returning character actors John Leguizamo and Lance Reddick, Chapter 2 also stars Common as fellow hitman Cassian, Ruby Rose as mute bodyguard Ares, and Peter Serafinowicz in a scene-stealing cameo as “the Sommelier”.

“…a film that knows exactly what it wants to be…”

And then there’s the ending. I can’t say much and still avoid spoilers … but the entire third act of the film is bonkers (in a good way), and the ending itself was one of the most interesting endings to a Hollywood action film since The Bourne Supremacy. At several points during the film, events don’t play out in quite the way you expect them to, which is a credit to the film-makers.

Just think for a moment how difficult it is to actually come up with something never seen before in a Hollywood action film – it’s no small task. And yet Chapter 2 manages to have a handful of action sequences that feel unlike anything I’ve seen before. This is a film that knows exactly what it wants to be – fun, cool, exciting and presenting action like you’ve never seen before. And in that respect, it’s pretty much an unqualified success.