To say that John Wick’s success was unanticipated would vastly undersell the situation. When the first film came out, a franchise was undoubtedly in the corner of the minds of those involved. After all, the 2010s were rife with them in the wake of Iron Man’s unmitigated success paving the way for The Avengers and the sprawling complex of films since then.
By the time John Wick landed in theaters, eight films had already come out in the MCU, cementing itself as the prime competitor for every major studio in the business. This was the year that Dracula Untold was released, mind you. Yet, by the time 2017 rolled around, John Wick had had time to percolate in the minds of movie-going audiences. The seeds of a fascinating, unique world had been planted, and audiences were clamoring for more. With twice as much spent on the budget, John Wick 2 earned slightly more than twice as much as its predecessor, sealing its fate as a powerhouse franchise in the making and reminding everybody once again why Keanu Reeves was – and still is – a beloved action film star.
Picking up shortly after the first film, John Wick 2 opens with an actionized car chase through the streets of New York as John seeks to retrieve his stolen car from the last of the Tarasov crime Family. Now led by Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare) explains to his Consiglieri (played by Wass Stevens) that the reason they are moving their entire operation as quickly as possible is because his nephew (played in the previous film by Alfie Allen) stole John Wick’s car and killed his dog. Much like Abram’s brother in the first film, the Consiglieri is suitably disturbed. However, unlike Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist), Abram is all too willing to accept John’s peace deal and does not appear again – after John has cut his way through Abram’s entire organization. John then retires to his home, hoping to live out his days in peace.
Unfortunately, there are people out there who are even eviler and stupider than Joffrey Baratheon, and in John Wick 2, they take the form of Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), a high-ranking member of the Camorra crime family. In an effort to bring more clarity to the world of John Wick, the details of how John was able to leave behind the underworld of assassination are explained.
Santino helped John complete an impossible task, which allowed John to exit the world, but at the same time, he owed a marker to Santino. Now, Santino wants to call that in and have John assassinate his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini), who is set to be coronated as the new head of the Camorra family and represent them at The Table.
Each successive film has built on the world of John Wick, giving more detail to the organizations within it and how they interact. The Table is one of the highest members of the shadowy organization, which seems to have assassins around every corner.
John Wick 2 makes extensive use of its illustrious supporting cast, with Charon (Lance Reddick), Aurelio (John Leguizamo), Jimmy (Thomas Sadoski), and Winston (Ian McShane), all of them returning from the previous entry, including a slightly larger role for the latter. Charon (whose name is once again only listed in the credits) is friendly and cordial with John, even offering to watch his new dog despite it not being a service that the Continental offers. Winston, for his part, attempts to balance his role as a friend to John and a member under the High Table who would, ostensibly, serve under Santino.
No amount of warning, however, can get through Santino to illuminate him to how big of a mistake he is actively making by first forcing John to go after his sister and then betraying him for doing so. Aurelio and Jimmy, however, provide little more than continuity-based cameos.
Ruby Rose plays Ares and is Santino’s chief security person and allows for John Wick 2 to show that the world of high-stakes assassination is also equal opportunity. Much like the first film, when subtitles are used, certain words are emphasized, and the same is done for Ares’ when she Signs to those around her. On the other side of the D’Antonio family is Cassian (Common), Gianna’s bodyguard. Despite his charge dying early into the film, Cassian spends the vast majority of it hunting down John for pulling the trigger. His rage is clear, and even if he understands why John did it, he cannot pull his focus from John in order to place it on Santino.
We are also given more of the role that the Continental plays in this world – with another one being located in Rome, under the management of Julius (Franco Nero), and featuring its own concierge in the form of Lucia (Youma Diakite), and, a character known as the Sommelier (Peter Serafinowicz), who is Rome’s weapons expert provider. When John arrives at the Continental in Rome, the movie allows for some levity when Julius point-blank asks John if he is there to kill the Pope. Whatever may or may not transpire in this world, it seems certain people are off-limits. Or, at the very least, it’s frowned on those under The Table assassinating them. It begs the question as to when that semi-immunity comes in. Are Cardinals on the list of protectees? Presidential candidates? With how vast the operation is implied to be and how vast it is shown to be in the following two entries, even more questions are raised, but very few of them are answered. This allows for a bit of mystique in this fictionalized version of our world. Assassins and their associates can be all over, but their code of honor is sacrosanct. At least, for some of them, it is.
Finally, Laurence Fishburne reunites with his The Matrix costar, playing the Bowery King, whose role and connection to the High Table is suspect. He oversees an underground empire all his own, using a network of men and women who pose as the homeless in order to be his eyes and ears on the streets of New York.
He provides material support to John when he needs it most, though he is certain to exact a high price considering who John is and what he is after. His most prominent member is Earl (Tobias Segal), who helps to hide John when he comes to seek the aid of the Bowery King.
When it comes to the relationships between certain characters, you find some of the true depth of the world in which John Wick 2 takes place.
Whether it be Gianna and Caspian or Ares and Santino, their sheer protectiveness of their charges is admirable, even as they assist them in committing heinous acts.
The same is true for John, with Winston and Charon, though this is further expanded in the next entry. Ares and Caspian (despite Gianna’s early death) spend much of their screentime concerned about how John’s presence will impact their charges. Ares seems fatally overconfident in her ability to take on John, though her eagerness to do so is present from the beginning.
On the other hand, Caspian is reticent about John’s mere presence at Gianna’s coronation and instantly suspects him of foul play. Those moments in which each pair interacts, while brief and fleeting, show that friendships and loyalty can be formed even in the world of organized crime. And destroyed.
The import of certain apparatuses is not fully delved into with John Wick 2. The world was still unfolding in the minds of Chad Stahelski and Derek Kolstad, the director, and writer for the series, but their ability to pivot from innocuously mentioned details into full-blown concepts is amazing.
Nothing in the franchise contradicts something from an earlier entry. The films are allowed to play off one another to an insane, appreciable degree.
The action of John Wick 2 ups the ante, with more nameless minions that John has to cut his way through in order to achieve his objectives. The fight choreography, whether in the brutal one on one fights or the exchanging of bullets of varying caliber, grows chaotic and elegant in equal measure.
Like the previous entry, John’s injuries and wounds from each engagement continue to impact him, keeping us apprised that the film takes place over a relatively short period. The most intense fights are saved for Ruby Rose and Common, allowing them to show that John may be dangerous, but he’s not the only one in that league. Obviously, it’s expected that he’ll survive – the runtime will always ensure that much – but each fight is brutal, frenetic, and weighty. John is clearly fighting for his life at each stage of the film when he crosses paths with either Ares or Caspian or the men that they throw at him.
John Wick 2 built off of its predecessor with precision and finesse. With the larger budget came larger set pieces, more grandiose fight scenes, and even better world-building. The time between the first film and the second allowed for the evolution of certain plot points. One can’t say for certain if something like The High Table was in mind when John Wick was scripted, filmed, or edited, but it flows seamlessly in John Wick 2 as if it had always been there. When it comes down to it, this universe starts out small so that it can build itself up and out. There is much to explore, and every unanswered question leaves one waiting for the next entry to expand on that world.
Lloydd Marshall Books 