JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2

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Bound by a blood oath to the ruthless Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is forced back into the deadly profession. With D'Antonio looking to take control of an international assassins' guild, Wick must travel to Rome and face the world's deadliest killers to accomplish his mission.

Cutting right to the chase, this latest chapter in the life of John Wick is a bloody good show. Chad Stahelski, who directed 2014's "John Wick" with David Leitch, returns to pile up

even more bodies than in the first thriller. This nearly non-stop action flick only slows down occasionally to advance the thin plot. As a stunt coordinator and Reeves' double in the "Matrix" movies, Stahelski does a marvelous job of staging the mostly realistic Hong Kong-style fight sequences. Sometimes these battles go on too long. This results in a symphony of violence from beginning to end. Longer than Wick 1 by about 20 minutes, Chapter 2 has a lot in common with its predecessor. Once again, John has a dog and uses a pencil as a lethal weapon. Ian McShane returns as Winston, the owner of the Continental Hotel - a haven for assassins. Also back are Lance Reddick as Charon, the hotel's concierge and John Leguizamo as Aurelio, the owner of a high-end chop shop. Newcomers include Common as Cassian, bodyguard to Santino's sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini), Ruby Rose as Ares, Santino's mute enforcer and Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King, a feared crime lord. Famed actor Franco Nero makes a brief appearance as the mysterious "manager". This time around, writer Derek Kolstad delivers more of what a macho audience craves out of the characters he has created. "John Wick: Chapter 2" is wickedly entertaining. (3 CAMS)


Rated R / Running Time: 122 minutes

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