John Wick: Chapter 2

*"You stabbed the devil in the back and forced him back into the life that he had just left. You incinerated the priest's temple. Burned it to the ground. Now he's free of the marker, what do you think he'll do? He had a glimpse of the other side and he embraced it. But you, Signor D'Antonio... took it away from him."
"He was already back."
"But he came back for love, not for you."
"He owed me! I had every right!"
"And now he's coming again. He did tell you not to do this; he did warn you. Adieu, Santino."*
—Winston to Santino D'Antonio**[src]**
***John Wick: Chapter 2*** is the sequel to the 2014 action thriller film *John Wick* and the precursor to the third installment in the franchise. The movie is written by Derek Kolstad and directed by Chad Stahelski, released to theaters on February 10, 2017. Keanu Reeves returns as the title character John Wick.

## Synopsis

*After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life by his former associate Santino D'Antionio*.

## Plot

John Wick recovers his stolen Boss 429 Mustang from Abram Tarasov, the late Viggo's brother. John dispatches Tarasov's men in a violent rampage that heavily damages the Mustang, but spares Tarasov under the promise of peace, and returns home.

John is visited by the Camorra crime boss Santino D'Antonio, who reminds him that he helped John complete his "impossible task", which allowed John to retire and marry Helen. In return, John swore to a "marker", an unbreakable vow symbolized by a "blood oath" medallion. Santino presents the marker to demand services from John, who declines. Santino retaliates by destroying John's house with a grenade launcher. John survives and travels to the Continental Hotel in New York City, where Winston reminds him that if he rejects the marker, he will be violating one of the two unbreakable rules of the underworld: no killing on Continental grounds and honoring every marker. John reluctantly accepts his commitment and meets with Santino, who tasks him with assassinating his sister, Gianna, so he can claim her seat at the "High Table", a council of twelve high-level crime bosses. Santino sends Ares, his mute bodyguard, to observe John's mission.

In Rome, John infiltrates Gianna's coronation, confronting her in her dressing room. Faced with certain death, Gianna chooses to slit her wrists. As Gianna dies, John shoots her in the head, to end her suffering and to fulfill the marker. As John leaves, Gianna's bodyguard, Cassian, recognizes him, realizes that he was sent to kill Gianna, and attacks him. John flees to the catacombs, where he is double-crossed by Ares and Santino's henchmen, who intend to tie up "loose ends" by killing him. After killing most of the henchmen, John is again pursued by Cassian. Their fight leads them into the Rome Continental's reception area, in which, like the New York Continental, "conducting business" is strictly forbidden. As the two share a drink, John explains his reason for killing Gianna. Nevertheless, Cassian promises John a quick and clean death as a sign of professional respect.

As John returns to New York City, Santino opens a contract for $7 million to kill John, ostensibly to avenge his sister, leading numerous assassins to unsuccessfully attack John. Cassian confronts John in the subway. After a vicious fight, Cassian is left with a knife stuck in his aorta. The badly injured John seeks help from an underground crime boss known as the Bowery King, whose subordinates treat John's injuries. Intrigued by John's intent to kill a member of the High Table, the Bowery King sportingly gives him a gun with only seven bullets, one for each million of the contract, and directs John to an art museum where Santino holds a gala. John pursues Santino throughout the museum, killing his remaining henchmen, including Ares, who gives Santino enough time to escape to the Continental, where he intends to remain indefinitely in its sanctuary. Despite Winston's warnings, the exasperated John shoots and kills Santino in the Continental lounge.

The next day, Winston meets with John and explains that the High Table doubled the contract on John, offering it globally. Further, for "conducting business" on Continental grounds, per the High Table's rules, Winston is forced to declare John "excommunicado", terminating all his access and privileges to underworld resources. However, Winston delays activating John's excommunication by one hour (giving him a head start) and provides him with a marker for future use. Before leaving, John advises Winston to warn every other High Table assassin that he will kill anyone who tries to hunt him. John departs with his dog as Winston makes a call enacting John's "excommunicado" to be activated in one hour. As news of the imminent contract disseminates, cellular phones begin to ring all around, and John begins to run.

## Cast

* Keanu Reeves as John Wick
* Riccardo Scamarcio as Santino D'Antonio
* Ian McShane as Winston Scott
* Ruby Rose as Ares
* Common as Cassian
* Claudia Gerini as Gianna D'Antonio
* Lance Reddick as Charon
* Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King
* Tobias Segal as Earl
* Bridget Moynahan as Helen Wick
* John Leguizamo as Aurelio
* Franco Nero as Julius
* Peter Serafinowicz as The Sommelier
* Luca Mosca as The Tailor (Angelo)
* Midori Nakamura as Seamstress
* Thomas Sadoski as Jimmy
* David Patrick Kelly as Charlie
* Peter Stormare as Abram Tarasov
* Chukwudi Iwuji as Akoni
* Heidi Moneymaker as Violin Assassin

## Release

*John Wick: Chapter 2* premiered at Arclight Hollywood in Los Angeles on January 30, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on February 10, 2017, by Summit Entertainment.

### Home Media

*John Wick Chapter 2* was released digitally on May 22, 2017 and DVD, Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray on June 13, 2017.

## Trivia

in Mexico, Spain and Argentina, the film is titled John Wick 2: Un Nuevo Día Para Matar which translates into English: John Wick 2: A New Day to Kill.

## External links

* John Wick: Chapter 2 at Wikipedia.org
* https://johnwick.movie/film/john-wick-chapter-2