Methodical gun-play, dystopian assassin society, bold colors...Great flick

Rating: 9/10 (16 February 2017)

To kill so many people, if you think about it, is a logistics nightmare. The amount of guns and ammo needed, the skills and timing required, the machine-like efficiency, the sheer luck...
John Wick 2 lets us relish in these finer points of killing. Wick picks apart his enemies with such an optimized precision, that you cannot help but applaud the mastery of his "work." There are shades of "Equilibrium" here, and gun kata, with the optimization of gun fighting being taken to a whole new level, almost as an art. Every move made must be one to put his enemies in position to be shot, preferably in the head. The close quarters combat scenes avoid the standard Hollywood gimmicks such as guns being conveniently kicked out of hands, or fights devolving into two men taking turns punching each other. Wick uses a variety of Judo grappling techniques, and Jiu-Jitsu ground work, to create brief separation from his enemy -- just enough to shoot them in the head. And boy is he good at that...
The plot is vaguely about Wick trying to start a new life, but itself is not as interesting as the surreal world that Wick lives in. This is a dystopian society where the tendrils of a high-powered underground community reach into the far sectors of every day life. Janitors, musicians, clerks, even hobos...Just about anyone could be on-call with the secret society. There is a growing implied influence of this Illumanti-esque group which is a pleasure to discover. And at the grand hotel, where the players and assassins spend their nights, there is an odd calm and serenity.
Wick's very name strikes morbid fear in everyone who hears it. One of the movie's treats is seeing the reactions of people as they realize they have John Wick coming after them. It's a gift that keeps on giving. It is simply understood, in this world, that John Wick is a death sentence..."Death's very emissary" one sad soul points out (correctly).
I really enjoyed this movie, mainly for the detailed and clinical killing scenes, and for the atmosphere of a fleshed out assassin universe. Wick 2 has a flare of style throughout as well, back dropping operatic violence with eerie music and bold colors. Many striking set- pieces, which by themselves could be contrived, but together pull the whole movie in the art-house direction (a la Drive), which I welcomed gladly.