John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) * * *

Directed by:  Chad Stahelski

Starring:  Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Common, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ruby Rose

I approached the viewing of John Wick: Chapter 2 with little enthusiasm.    The first film had some admirable qualities drowned out by mind-numbing, gory violence.    I didn't expect much different from Chapter 2, but sometimes movies can surprise you.     I found myself much more involved this time around.    We learn more about the underworld John Wick (Reeves) inhabits and how it fits him like a glove.    This underworld is a network of exclusive hotels and professionals that cater to assassins like Wick with strict policies on violence within their walls (ironic, isn't it?).     The people abide by strict professional codes and "professional courtesies".     They are, dare I say it, polite even as they are trying to whack each other.    It isn't any wonder Wick can't stay retired.    He is addicted to the violence and the ultimate goal of revenge he will never truly fulfill.    He is like an underworld celebrity, or maybe even a legend. 

As Chapter 2 opens,  Wick is taking another go at retirement after killing hundreds of people in his quest to avenge his dead dog and damaged car from the first film.    He doesn't get much time to relax.    An acquaintance from long ago named Santino (Scamarcio) knocks on the door with an army of men dressed in black suits behind him.     Santino asks John to honor a favor owed to him, which John initially refuses.    Santino's men firebomb John's house and burn it to the ground, forcing John out of retirement to do Santino the favor and wipe the slate clean for good.   

In this world of treachery masked by handshakes and politeness, nothing is as it seems.    John travels to Rome to carry out his mission, which is the murder of Santino's sister in order for Santino to gain her seat on the board which governs this underworld...I suppose.     After completing the mission, Santino seeks revenge and places a $7 million bounty on John's head because, hey, John  killed his sister.     No one said this code between criminals was logical.      Those who appreciated the gruesome violence of the first film from 2014 will get what they came for as John survives attack after attack and killing his enemies in sometimes frenetic, choreographed fashion.     Unlike the first film, there is less attention to gore and sensationalistic killings (although there is some of both still) and more attention to the creative ways John avoids getting killed.    It is ridiculous that dozens of people can't seem to kill Wick, but this is not a film in which realism is a priority.

The undercurrent of dread fills the air as Wick seems to dig himself deeper as he tries to escape what may be his ultimate fate.     Keanu Reeves is determined and taciturn, although as the story progresses, we wonder what life he is determined to get back to.    It is fun to see Reeves and Laurence Fishburne, who plays an underworld kingpin, together again two decades after The Matrix series.    Fishburne is loud, booming, and laughs with sinister intent.    He fits right in with this world. 

What makes John Wick: Chapter 2 more successful than its predecessor is its focus on the world in which Wick is truly at home.    The beautiful buildings, the dark halls, the art which adorns the walls of the buildings suggesting civility while hiding such painful violence underneath.     There is such irony between the civil professionalism the criminals exude and their terrible deeds done in the name of such professionalism.     John Wick is part of it and in many ways, cannot rise above it.