Action compensates for some genuine weaknesses

Rating: Null/10 (8 July 2017)

I enjoyed the original "John Wick" movie, and in my IMDb review I said that I would return for the sequel if start Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski returned for it. Well, both things happened, so I was sure to rent the Blu-ray when it came out.
Like the first movie, this sequel seems to have split people - either you like it, or you hate it. I did like it, though I will freely admit that it isn't perfect. The complaint that it doesn't have much in the way of character development is true to a degree. It is hard to get into the head of the title character (or any other character). John Wick is more or less just portrayed as an extreme killing machine, and a few scenes of him looking at photos of his departed sweetheart don't really do anything.
The movie is more a vehicle to showcase hardcore action. But if you are just in the mood to see a lot of action, the movie does deliver the goods... eventually. After the opening action-packed ten minutes of the movie, you have to wait forty five minutes or so for the action to start coming again. But when it does, it's worth the wait. Gunplay, martial arts, the movie has it all when it comes to action, and it's very well staged (and very violent.)
I know this movie isn't for everybody. If you didn't like the first movie, you certainly won't like this sequel. But if you liked the first movie and simply want to sit back and have some non-think kind of entertainment, the movie does reasonably entertain for a couple of hours. I went into the movie with that frame of mind, and I was entertained. If Reeves and Stahelski return for part 3, I will definitely give it a look.