Repetition could get on your Wick!

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2017)

John Wick Chapter 2
This movie was on my list of most anticipated movies of 2017 and with good reason. JW Chapter 1 was an absolute blast. An adrenaline shot straight to the heart. A refreshing change from the shaky cam action movies Hollywood continually churns out these days. The first movie had a simple storyline with well choreographed action scenes and a hero the audience could root for. We felt his pain, we got behind him and supported his motive. JW Chapter 2 is a more complex affair. A film that stumbles in its quest to expand its character and the universe he dwells in by giving the audience too much for their money. The simplicity that made the original so good is lost here. As is the reason to truly root for him. By no means is JW2 a bad movie. In fact I enjoyed it immensely but at the same time it felt like a very large helping of my favourite food. I was outfaced by gorging on repetition. However great the action scenes are I couldn't help but feel a little full with over indulgence. There's only so many times you can see a man thrown over the shoulder of another man, have his arm snapped and then shot in the head. Keanu Reeves is a man of commitment and this is apparent in every action scene. At fifty two years of age he really does still kick ass and I almost feel like an ungrateful kid at Christmas. A giant buffet of action to feast on. What am I complaining for? Reeves and the crew have gone to extraordinary lengths to bring each kick, punch and gunshot to life and here I am griping. The opening sequence of action is thrilling but by two thirds of the way into the movie I'm almost as weary as JW himself. So the story this time around is that John must honour a marker he made many years ago. Failure to do so will result in serious consequences (as John learns the hard way). By honouring the said marker he then has every assassin and his dog after him. I'll not go into too many reasons why as following the actual storyline does give you a rest from the repetition. A friend of mine summed it up perfectly. Same action scene, different location. Don't get me wrong people there is a good time to be had here, with some memorable scenes too. A particular one with a pencil springs to mind! (yes a f**king pencil!) The problem is that the film is overlong. Unlike the original, a lean mean movie. JW Chapter 2 tries hard to cram in two much. Expanding the world John lives in is intriguing but it bulks out an already over bulky movie. Maybe thirty mins less of a run time would have left me a little less fatigued by the end of the movie. Still JW2 is one of the better movies of this genre that has been produced lately and I will definitely go see the inevitable JW Chapter 3. Only please make that one a smaller portion.