John Wick: Chapter 2- Review
Note to self: never go on a movie date with people who are not genuinely interested in the movie. Having someone interrupt you during a movie isn't fun but talking during a Keanu Reeves movie? Unacceptable.
So I saw the official premiere of John Wick: Chapter 2 yesterday and I have been waiting ages! Unfortunately there was one major turn off about this movie but we'll get to that later. This movie was directed by Chad Stahelski and features the talents of Keanu Reeves *swoon*, Riccardo Scamarcio and Ian McShane.
Without taking too much away from this movie, John Wick is back at it again and on the run with a major bounty over his head. Trying to detach himself from being "that guy", he tries to settle in to life at peace, however an offer he literally cannot refuse sends him back to square one.
The performances: Keanu Reeves never ceases to amaze me and I don't think I can really recall a movie where I didn't like him. I really enjoy watching him as he plunges into a role and makes it as authentic as humanely possible. I'm not sure about you guys, but watching Keanu play John Wick really gets my adrenaline pumping and my attention is always present. No one would be able to play John Wick as well as Keanu does so all I can say now is, bring on part 3!
Riccardo Scamarcio plays Santino D'Antonio, a crime lord with an offer to bring back the real John Wick. I also really enjoyed Riccardo's performance but at parts, didn't feel as though he contributed enough. I wanted him to explain more of his history with John but I wasn't granted that. Hopefully, if there are any introductions to new characters in the next movie, they will have a greater backstory.
Ian McShane always appeals to me as that kind of 'godfather' but in this role, he is simply a hotel owner and manager in New York. His character does make progression though and seeing him go from reasonable to sinister is an interesting concept. Again, not as much dialogue from him in this movie but from the way the movie ended, we're definitely in for more from Ian.
The cons: Right so apparently there was a lot of controversy about this movie being released in Australia. Many edits and cuts were made to this movie in order to avoid an 18+ rating and for it to have possibly been "banned" in Australia. That means that everyone in Australia who went to see this movie were not granted every original frame scheduled. This actually makes me quite mad as I would have loved to have seen everything, not what was deemed "appropriate" and for what prolonged the release date. It barely scraped an R18+ rating anyway, most movies are under that rating nowadays anyway. It wouldn't have mattered to me regardless. I just feel as though I have been robbed of viewing pleasure.
Other than that, the only other thing I want to complain about is Ruby Rose featuring in this movie. She plays the role of Ares, Santino's mute security enforcer and assassin. In all honesty, I don't really see the point of her character and ignored her a bit. I didn't feel as though I gained anything from her role. She seemed somewhat unnecess
ary to me and would have probably been better as an extra.
The cinematography was so crisp and concise in this movie, all by the talented Dan Laustsen. Also, there's a scene in this movie where John goes to Italy and there's a concert on which features the acts of Le Castle Vania and Kaleida. They contribute to the soundtrack of this movie and it is a combination of haunting and beautiful. Definitely appropriate for this movie and so appealing to the ears.
If you haven't seen the first instalment of this movie, please do yourself a favour and go watch it- just so you can watch this one too and understand it. Look out for that third movie when more information is released!
Score: 9/10
Rating: MA15+