#18 — John Wick: Chapter 2
This is part of an illustrated countdown of my 49 1/2 most essential action movies. Last week I talked about an action cop obsessed with personal branding and afraid to get in touch with his feelings, in Cobra.
You can put any chapter from the Book of Wick here, but I think 2 is my current favorite. There were some notable changes to overcome as a sequel. David Leitch parted ways to follow his own path, placing all the potential blame and disappointment on Chad Stahelski’s shoulders. Dan Lausten was called on to replace Johnathan Sela as DP. Instead of a simple revenge plot with a clever, emotional hook, they focused on John’s dark, consequential descent into the underworld he’d escaped.
I am happy to report that all these things worked out. John Wick: Chapter 2 is an assured, stylish action showcase that fits all its intentions in a perfectly tailored suit.
The opening shot reveals old footage from a Buster Keaton movie being projected on the side of a building just as a motorcycle comes screeching around the corner, chased by Wicks car. This is maybe the closest thing to pandering you’ll find, but also a good tone-setter. Think of Chad Stahelski as an action movie sommelier, giving us a tasting of his many inspirations.
The aforementioned chase transitions into a hybrid demolition derby/brawl where John has to defeat every goon in the building to steal back his Mustang (starting to think this car is bad luck), and then he opens the glove box to reveal a stashed picture of his late wife. He did all that to save her memory. Helen is starting to approach meme territory by chapter 3, but it still registers here as the anchor to John’s universe.
This little prologue plays like one of those opening James Bond vignettes. I wish they’d decided at this point to produce an original Wick-related theme song for any new chapter, but it probably wasn’t in the budget. I’m thinking about Adele or Robyn singing about Wick’s reload skills and dog training.
They still find other ways to mythologize the character, like having Peter Stormare (playing the brother of Viggo) retell the famous pencil story to one of his men. The guy has already heard it, just like we’ve already watched the first John Wick twenty times, but Stormare insists that if anything, the stories have been watered down. Of course, that also means they have to raise the bar for the action or else we’re all gonna think he was exaggerating and that this Wick gentleman was just a one-hit wonder of assassination — the 99 Luftballoons of popping people in the head, the Blue Da Ba Dee of double taps, the Steal My Sunshine of CQC. Thankfully, we now understand that is not the case.
That’s kind of what this entry is all about. You know Wick has a reputation, but it’s time to see just how good he really is. There’s no surprises anymore. That means Keanu has to be good too, and he clearly is. His body language conveys someone who has completely settled into the character. I think of the aggressive charging stance he goes into during the art museum shootout. In particular, I like watching his hands. You can fake a good fight, but hands often tell the truth. His hands are big and expressive. They look strong. They speak loudly in reloading a gun or the way he grips a steering wheel. There’s a demonstrated skill and comfort to his physicality that this character requires.
Chapter 2 is the time to show off a little. There are multiple instances of close quarters gunplay that I’ve never seen presented like this before. There’s a dialogue-free, seven minute montage of assassins throughout the city trying to kill John that is action movie nirvana. It also contains the single funniest moment in the series, and a perfect example of the command of tone — I’m referring to the silent pistol duel, weaving its way through oblivious bystanders while Keanu and Common mean mug each other. This is cinema.
There’s a clear confidence in every aspect of the production. The weird assassin underworld introduced in the first film now feels less like mafia business and more like a secret society of vampires — existing underground and going unnoticed by passing strangers (Please note the armored suit coat being pulled across Wick’s body like Dracula) They do their hard partying at night, live by antiquated codes and rules, and share a certain decorum between friend and foe. Instead of broadly comic one-liners like “SEE YOU AT DUH PAWTY, CASSIAN”, Wick says things like “The blade is in your aorta. You pull it out, you will bleed, and you will die. Consider this a professional courtesy”. Likewise, when John asks for tactical suit lining, it’s understood to be funny without the need for any punctuation. The request is politely made with the sincerity Keanu has become known for.
In Chapter 2, the showcase of Wick’s skill is also his punishment. He dipped his pinky in the pond Winston warned about. You know, the killing pond. Now he’s gotta go back to his old job of being the best alive at doing the worst thing (stabbing people in the groin). He’s real grumpy now, he’ll shoot your knees out, clip you with his car door, and pencil you in the eye.
While I appreciate the more well-rounded action films that bow and curtsy to emotionally complex characters and carefully orchestrated suspense, I am also glad that we have the wilder shoot-em-ups like this one. It’s the stylistic ideal of stuff like Wanted or Equilibrium — while absolutely smoking the craft and aesthetic of most of its competition. In some ways, Chapter 2 is the modern spiritual successor to something like Commando — the ultimate in one-man-army, late-night lizard brain antics. I am glad Mr. Wick racks up a body count of a hundred and areyoukiddingme-something, and I’m glad it makes people tired, because I felt the same way watching Liam Neeson’s stunt double scale a fence in 30 cuts while the genre spent years hiding in a Where’s Waldo book of ass-kicking.
Pin me to a wall with a shotgun and blow my brains onto the marble curves of a renaissance sculpture. Throw me through a mirror bathed in neon lighting and run over my corpse with a taxi cab. Ragdoll me down such a comically endless flight of stairs that when I finally hit the bottom, I’m greeted by a boot from Rowdy Roddy Piper and Keith David. This movie understands me.
Chapter 2 ends perfectly, with John and his new dog literally running for their lives through Central Park while a clock ticks toward their fate.
‘Whoever comes, whoever it is… I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them all.”
If the series ended right here, it would be a fitting conclusion. It could also go on forever because he might actually kill them all. Like Ogami Ittō, Wick is now cursed to walk the Demon Path.
