Hard-boiled, surrealistic 'John Wick 2' a ballet of bullets
We'll get to all the stabbing, punching, chasing, choking, shooting, screaming, beating, kicking, shouting, running and bleeding in a moment.
When you see "John Wick: Chapter 2," you should be awed by at least two things:
1) The magnificent lighting. Every set, every shot, has been carefully constructed and artfully illuminated as if fight-choreographer-turned-director Chad Stahelski had placed "Lethal Weapon," "Enter the Dragon," "Hardboiled" and the 1960s British TV series "The Prisoner" into a cinematic blender and concocted a motion picture of such visual mastery, every frame could be a postcard photograph.
Wet, nocturnal streets and alleys glow with neo-noiry Edward Hopper-esque vibes.
2) The fight scenes - the bulk of the movie - assault our retinas with such grace, speed and power that they evolve from routine stage combat to a higher form of conflict choreography, ballets with bullets, if you will. A climactic hall-of-mirrors faceoff evokes "Gunfight at the OK Phantom Zone."
"John Wick: Chapter 2" picks up nanoseconds after Stahelski's 2014 film that introduced Wick (Keanu Reeves), a retired Russian mob assassin who had only a cute Beagle by which to remember his late wife.
When Wick refused to sell his 1969 Steve McQueen-grade Boss Ford Mustang, Russian thugs beat him and bludgeoned his dog to death.
No surprise. They do not make it into "Chapter 2."
This paranoia-fueled sequel centers around the mysterious Continental, a New York hotel run by Winston (Ian McShane). It serves as the headquarters for a secret global network of cellphone-connected assassins who, as we learn, seem to outnumber the world's non-assassin population.
Just like "Fight Club," the Continental has rules: No "business" conducted on Continental property; every marker must be honored.
Wealthy playboy Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) holds Wick's marker.
To pay it off, he demands Wick assassinate his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini), so he can take her chair at the High Table, a ruling council of criminals, something like Ian Fleming's S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
Sis' corpse barely grows cold before D'Antonio puts out a $7 million contract on Wick. Gianna's vengeful bodyguard Cassian (Common, an uncommonly good martial arts fighter) would do it for free.
"Chapter 2" comes peppered in black humor, particularly when an upscale arms dealer describes his inventory of weapons as if pitching enticing vintage wines.
The anachronistic blend of old and new communication technologies imbues the movie with a surrealistically retro Terry Gilliam flair.
But the action sequences, assembled by editor Evan Schiff on Red Bull, remain the movie's raison d'être.
Not since the John Woo-inspired "Lethal Weapon" have fight segments so delightfully surprised us with their lyrical movement, raw force and explosive spontaneity, all supplemented by Oscar-grade sound editing and mixing.
Versatility has always eluded Reeves as a performer. Here, skilled physicality sells the character without pushing the actor out of his narrow, emotive comfort zone even as he descends into a gloriously spectacular metaphorical hell in a downward elevator.
Maybe he'll heal up in time for the next chapter.
“John Wick 2”
★ ★ ★ ½
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Common, Laurence Fishburne, Franco Nero
Directed by: Chad Stehelski
Other: A Summit Entertainment release. Rated R for language, nudity, violence. 122 minutes