Was surprised when a search indicated no thread for this, so I thought I'd start one. Yeah, I know it's not based on a comic book superhero, but it might as well be, so surely someone other than me has seen it!
Without spoiling anything too much, I'll say right out that I was pretty disappointed. The first John Wick movie was made by action movie stuntmen and showed it -- in addition to awesome action set pieces, in which you can actually see what's going on -- there's a lot of genre tropes layered in, without using too heavy a hand, so they pop out like easter eggs. The attention to detail, and some surprisingly touching moments, made the first John Wick one of my favorites.
This year's Chapter 2 got great reviews from fans and critics, most of whom seemed to prefer it to the first one. I am unable to share their enthusiasm. Most of John Wick 2, to me, was like watching the screen while someone played a shooter video game. Yeah, I appreciate that a high body count is expected, but how many times can you see Keanu Reeves turn a corner in a corridor maze and shoot another 3 or 4 or a dozen mooks in the head, for seemingly hours at a time?
Outside of a couple of very bad scenes of that sort, there's a pointless cameo with Lawrence Fishburne (you know -- they were in the Matrix movies together!) that doesn't really add anything.
I'm not saying it was all bad -- far from it -- there were some amusing scenes that worked well, some very good chemistry between some of the stars, and some excellent action sequences (particularly in the first scene). But overall, it seemed brutally heavy-handed where the first one showed some real finesse behind the gore and mayhem.
They don't do more than touch on it in the original. Does the sequel expand on this seemingly cool setting?
Like the action scenes, they dial it up to eleventy billion.
The only thing interesting was this criminal underworld
Can you name another movie in which the Russian characters actually fight Sambo? That kind of attention to detail is endearing to me. And the Continental Hotel is basically the Abelard Sanctuary from Brotherhood of the Rose -- by David Morrell, the guy who wrote First Blood. There are countless other examples. John Wick 1 reminded me a lot of Tarantino's Kill Bill, which isn't actually a pair of movies, but rather a pastiche of countless movies and shows I grew up watching.
They don't do more than touch on it in the original. Does the sequel expand on this seemingly cool setting?Like the action scenes, they dial it up to eleventy billion.
** spoiler about NYC omitted **
Son, clearly you haven't been to New York. John Wick 2 is based on Brooklyn. And, yeah, it is all true. We send ninjas packin' like the beyotches they are... :D
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John Wick 3 isn't a movie. We're all just e-mailed instructions for hunting down Keanu Reeves, because everyone is an assassin. Even you.
Son, clearly you haven't been to New York.
On the contrary; I'm from Troy, just north of Albany. New York City, as we all know, is part of Jersey!
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The latest studies show that gentrification leads to 3 things:
1. Increase in average rental housing prices.
2. Scads of Lulu-Lemon-Clad-Yoga-Mommies blocking the sidewalks with strollers.
3. Fv@<-loads of Assassins!
That's just science. :D