John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life.

Director:

Chad Stahelski

Writers:

Derek Kolstad, Derek Kolstad (based on characters created by)

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ian McShane

4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	John Wick
Riccardo Scamarcio	...	Santino D'Antonio
Ian McShane	...	Winston
Ruby Rose	...	Ares
Common	...	Cassian
Claudia Gerini	...	Gianna D'Antonio
Lance Reddick	...	Charon
Laurence Fishburne	...	Bowery King
Tobias Segal	...	Earl
John Leguizamo	...	Aurelio
Bridget Moynahan	...	Helen
Thomas Sadoski	...	Jimmy
Erik Frandsen	...	Numismatic
David Patrick Kelly	...	Charlie
Perry Yung	...	Doctor

Storyline

Bound by an inescapable blood debt to the Italian crime lord, Santino D'Antonio, and with his precious 1969 Mustang still stolen, John Wick--the taciturn and pitiless assassin who thirsts for seclusion--is forced to visit Italy to honour his promise. But, soon, the Bogeyman will find himself dragged into an impossible task in the heart of Rome's secret criminal society, as every killer in the business dreams of cornering the legendary Wick who now has an enormous price on his head. Drenched in blood and mercilessly hunted down, John Wick can surely forget a peaceful retirement as no one can make it out in one piece.

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Plot Keywords:

one man army | sequel | hitman | one against many | violence | 

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Taglines:

The Only Way Out Is Back In.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence throughout, some language and brief nudity.

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are multiple references to the co-op action video game Payday 2 (2013), such as a scene where the Payday Clown's masks are seen as graffiti on a wall. The final contract's number, 11111, was also a slight nod to an inside joke of the "Payday 2" community. In the game, John Wick appears as a playable character. When he was first released, he only had one line for when he collected a bag of loot, that line being "ONE!" this line would go on to become a joke among fans of the game as well as it being turned into a mod that replaced all of John Wick's lines with "ONE!".

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Goofs

Stashing the shotgun on his escape route makes no sense. It has no benefits over the AR-15 in this situation, but it has serious drawbacks - it is much slower and more awkward to reload. The logical thing would have been to hide more magazines for the AR in that spot.

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Quotes

Santino D'Antonio: No wife, no dog, no home. You have nothing, John. Vengeance is all you have left.

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Alternate Versions

British version was cut (23 seconds were removed from the suicide scene) by local distributor Warner Bros. to secure a 15 rating (an uncut 18 rating was available).

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Action Movies with the Most Action (2018)

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Soundtracks

Presto Museum Battle
Composed by Antonia Vivaldi and Joel J. Richard
Performed by Joel J. Richard

User Reviews

Professional Courtesy

A film with more head-shots than words spoken, John Wick: Chapter 2 is just about the most violent film I've seen in quite some time. But it knows exactly what it wants to do, and succeeds immensely.

Keanu Reeves isn't one of the best actors working today, and I don't think he would disagree with that statement. But he's no doubt one of the most committed actors out there. There's no more than a few pages of total spoken dialogue throughout 'Chapter 2', and Reeves has probably a maximum of 30 lines, all of which aren't necessarily delivered as well as they should be. But it doesn't ultimately matter. Sure, John Wick could be a better franchise if the scripts were of the same caliber as say a Bond or a Bourne movie, but that's not really why you go see one of these movies. You go to see Keanu Reeves kick some butt amidst some of the best choreographed action in cinema.

Chapter 2 picks up not too long after the first film ends as Wick is somewhat enjoying his life as a "retired" assassin. If the first film was about him coming back to seek revenge, this film is Wick reluctantly coming back because he owes a debt to another assassin. I don't think the filmmakers truly could have imagined this would be a franchise off the bat, but it's sure shaping up to be quite the intriguing universe. The one thing that has always struck me as appealing in this series is the way they portray the world Wick lives in. Yes, it's present day, but the world that surrounds Wick is heightened to make for more exciting action (it's essentially a world full of super assassins). But at the same time, the films are incredibly grounded with reality. It's that balance that so few films can accomplish to this particular level.

Taking the famous Liam Neeson line "I will kill you" to a whole new level, Wick claims "I will kill them all". And that's pretty much your movie. Wick doesn't want to come back, he owes a debt and is forced to return for one more kill, and then the bounty on his head reaches just about everyone linked to The Continental's database. The rest of the movie is Wick delivering killing blows to just about anyone who stands in his way in the most creative ways possible. Isn't it about time people leave this guy alone? Overall, John Wick: Chapter 2 promised visceral action (all impressively in camera- yeah, I'm looking at you Resident Evil) and we got just that. Even if the dialogue can be clunky and the performances are over the top, it doesn't really matter. What matters is this series continues to be a pleasant surprise in an age where great action movies are too few and far between.

+Insanely well-done action

+Tops the first film's scope

+The universe Derek Kolstad has built

-Some dialogue is bland and even lazy

8.6/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA Italy Hong Kong Canada

Language:

English Italian Russian

Release Date:

10 February 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Wick 2

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,436,123, 12 February 2017

Gross USA:

$92,029,184

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$171,547,802

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, TIK Films, Thunder Road Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1