Bland follow up to a fun action movie.

Rating: 5/10 (2 March 2017)

When you see a modern day action movie there are really only a couple types you see. There are films that drive the action with an emotional core and then there are those that use an impossible situation to drive things forward. 'John Wick' used a dog and a dead wife to propel our hero back into action, utilizing emotion. 'John Wick 2' it's either of these. Which is why it fails. The film is a direct sequel to the original, taking place only hours later. We see him retrieve his stolen car and is then pushed into returning to action via a blood oath he signed with the wrong kind of person. This person uses John to kill a specific person for him and from this comes our action movie. Neither having an emotional core or any stakes.
So what can we care about? Not much really. You don't really care about our main character because you don't know hardly anything about him and he is no longer driven by anger. And he isn't trying to fight his way out of an impossible situation, that is, until the second half. The biggest problems for me reside in the first hour of this film. Where we are left with nothing to care about or to be invested in.
It begins with a mindless action scene that is completely pointless to this film that lasts for nearly twenty minutes. This is shortly followed by nearly forty minutes of nothing. A character sits down with John, tells him general exposition that he already knows, and then moves onto the next person who does the same thing. It's nothing. The first hour of this film is about as close to nothing as an action film can get.
What's worse is that nearly thirty minutes of this first hour is literally worthless. There are countless scenes that go on for twice the length they should. Which mainly stems from characters just blatantly explaining things to the audience. Not only is it more interesting to tell a story through visuals but it's also less time consuming, but it actually takes some amount of effort.
I guess this film decided that the easy route was the best route because the film is nothing but sitting around and explaining everything. Each and every detail is spelled out for the audience, drawing the run time out thirty minutes too long. And when the action finally hits, it's dull. This is the final blow that the film dealt me before I gave up. There is an extended scene that takes place in an underground catacomb that is so poorly lit, it's actually impossible to see anything.
There is dust flying every which way, people running about, endless headshots, and it's all lit by a single light on the floor. It wasn't until some other assassin's tried to kill our hero that the film became interesting. From the point where Wick gets hit with a $7,000,000 contract on, the film is exactly what it should've been. A well lit, endless action scene that doesn't try to overstate things. And, guess what? We actually have a reason to care!
The moment Wick gets double crossed is the moment that we get invested in things. We like punishments to reflect actions. So when our main character gets double-crossed/stabbed in the back, we want to see justice served. Boom, a conflict we can care about. While the second half has its share of issues it's significantly improved just by giving us a reason to care. And, outside of the catacombs sequence, the action in the film is great.
It's everything you could reasonably expect. Well choreographed, shot in nice wides, and cut together with a decent sense of rhythm. The action just has a natural flow and brutality to it that it's hard not to praise. If there's only one thing to see the film for, it would be for the action. Specifically the last hour of said action. If you exclude the dull, lifeless, ugly first half (which you shouldn't) the film is a well-made action movie that delivers everything you could ever want. It just takes a while to get to that point.