John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
John Wick: Chapter 2 hits like a sledgehammer to the skull from the beginning and never stops. Earlier today, I assumed that it was going to be a fantastic and ultra-exciting movie. In fact, I started to think that I was getting a little too excited.
Nope. John Wick: Chapter 2 is beyond fantastic. I have not enjoyed a film from beginning to end this much in several years. I am shocked by how much I love this film. There is undoubtedly a Godfather effect when comparing Chapter 2 to the first, and John Wick: Chapter 2 is blood opera at its finest.
Everything about the film resonates and pleases: the story and pace, the cast and performances, the directing and cinematography, the fight and stunt choreography, the settings and production design, and the sound and mixing, damn the sound was masterfully executed. All of the different sounds of brutal violence continue to echo a delightful symphony in my ears.
John Wick is officially my favorite action hero, or antihero, since Tarantino’s Beatrix Kiddo. In other words, I cannot think of a film character I have enjoyed this much in over a decade.
That’s not to dismiss Django, but throwing Tarantino back in the mix again is not fair. Meanwhile, technically speaking, Chapter 2 has Django. Franco Nero, the original Django, is a special guest actor in the film, and it simply does not get better than a special appearance by Franco Nero.
Let’s be honest. I simply love the Keanu as well. I always have. He’s thee One. He’s Johnny Utah, Ted Theodore Logan, Johnny Mnemonic, Jack Traven, Siddhartha, the devil’s right-hand man, Winston Connelly in The Night Before (a ridiculously obscure reference of a film I loved growing up.)
I loved Keanu growing up and I love Keanu as an adult. Ultimately, Keanu is my lifelong man-crush. When I was growing up, people said that choosing Keanu as my favorite actor was queer. I tried to pick some others for a while, but having a closet man-crush does not look good on anyone. F’em.
Keanu continually crushes it at the cinema. In a John Wick movie, anyone calling you queer for liking Keanu Reeves or anything meant to demean you and all things queer would probably be stabbed in the neck with a pencil. Have you not seen A Walk in the Clouds? That’s a tough guy film. I’ll tell you what’s tough: Going to see that one alone as a fat little thirteen-year-old. Scary shit. The Last Time I committed Suicide? Keanu as Neal Cassidy’s friend. Iown it.That new one on DVD The Whole Truth? That was a good sleeper rental. Feeling Minnesota with Cameron Diaz? Own it. Much Ado About Nothing? Parenthood? Constantine (so underrated)? Knock Knock? Eli Roth is a phenomenal filmmaker. See? The list goes on and on. All solid movies with superb performances by Keanu. One might say that Keanu is the proverbial wine that only gets better with time.
Where I come from, he’s Johnny Utah, and that’s really all that needs to be said. John Wick: Chapter 2 is merely more evidence that Keanu is going to win again and again.I am not saying that I think Chapter 2 is going to win a best picture Oscar next year. However, it very well could end up as my favorite film of 2017. I know, it’s only February, and I too am very excited about several films coming out this year.
Either way, if you are reading this blog, I can’t see how Chapter 2 wouldn’t be the film for you too. I say take the whole family.I’m trying to see it again with my mother this weekend. That’s right, I immediately want to see it again. My mom is a huge Keanu fan too; she has a different kind of crush for Keanu than me.
John Wick: Chapter 2 far exceeded my expectations. I not only loved the movie but also needed it. Hollywood is always producing films that I enjoy, but Chapter 2 quenched a thirst for elegant cinematic ultraviolence that is rare in forms of superior substance. I am extremely happy this film was made. It is superb cinema.
