John Wick: Chapter 2

~NO SPOILERS~ This movie essentially starts right after the first one ends, right at the top-down view of New York City. Dark humor abounds, bullets rip through head and bodies, and Wick is unstoppable. This film should be held as the gold standard for action movies. There is very little camera shake during fights and Reeves clearly has spent a lot of time preparing for this role. You can see nearly every take-down, every gunshot, and Wick has to reload at inconvenient times in a realistic fashion which also adds to the hilarity of the following kills. Overall the acting performances were solid. Reeves isn't known for having an extremely wide range, but his devotion to making this movie a kick-ass martial arts production is second to none. I felt the villain was a bit on the weak side though, but he did his role justice. Ian McShane's character remains the strongest especially combined with the last film. The lighting is superb! There's a red-blue theme that is in nearly every nightclub and darkly lit areas and its absolutely lovely to look at. Overall cinematography is very good. Definitely worth seeing!

Grows the world. Grows the legend. But the story itself and the man himself remain firmly retreading the steps they took in the first outing. Not too harsh a criticism though, 'cause that one was damn good too. _Final rating:★★★½ - I strongly recommend you make the time._