More grounded than its predecessor

Rating: 8/10 (2 August 2017)

John Wick: Chapter 2 is the sequel to the 2014 action thriller John Wick. Once again starring Keanu Reeves in the title role, this follow-up feels more grounded than its predecessor and thankfully tells a much different story.
Four days after the events of the original, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) successfully retrieves his stolen car from the Russian gangsters and returns home. After arriving home, John is greeted by Santino D'Antonio, an Italian crime lord who forcefully assigns John with fulfilling one last "impossible task" as part of his blood contract to the crime underworld. Upon setting out to complete the task, John soon learns that a $7 million bounty has been placed on his life and he must now try to survive every hit-man and hitwoman in his vicinity coming after him.
While the most obvious route would be to completely rehash the original, John Wick: Chapter 2 follows an entirely different plot, choosing to expand upon the title character's backstory and his motivations. In the first film, several outcomes felt obvious and predictable but in this sequel it often felt like things could have gone either way. The action scenes are more frequent and even feel better choreographed this time around. There were also more fist fights in this film, alluding a great deal more to the kung fu films that it was influenced by. The creative use of colour and lighting returns and the filmmakers do a good job using them to enhance the mood and tone of a scene. Keanu Reeves continues his nuanced performance first seen in the original and it definitely works to his advantage during some of the film's more dramatic and self-reflective moments.
I rate it 8/10