John Wick: Chapter 2

Plot

About four days after the events of the first film, former assassin John Wick tracks down his stolen 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 at a chop shop owned by Abram Tarasov, brother of Viggo and uncle of Iosef. John dispatches Tarasov's men in a violent fight that heavily damages his car. He then spares Tarasov under the auspices of peace and returns home.

After Aurelio takes John's Mustang for repairs, John is visited by Italian crime lord Santino D'Antonio. It is revealed that to complete his "impossible task"—which allowed him to retire and marry Helen—John asked D'Antonio for help. As a form of contract, D'Antonio swore John to a "Marker", an unbreakable promise symbolized by a "blood oath" medallion. D'Antonio presents the medallion to demand services from John, but John refuses, claiming that he is "retired". In retaliation, D'Antonio destroys John's house with a grenade launcher.

Winston, the owner of the Continental hotel in New York City, reminds John 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 Markers must be honored. John accepts his commitment and meets with D'Antonio, who tasks him with assassinating his sister Gianna D'Antonio so he can claim her seat on the "High Table," a council of high-level crime lords. D'Antonio sends Ares, his personal bodyguard, to follow and keep an eye on John.

In Rome, John infiltrates Gianna's celebratory party and confronts her. Faced with certain death, Gianna chooses to commit suicide. While retreating, John is ambushed by D'Antonio's men, who intend to "tie up loose ends" by killing him. After killing most of them, John is pursued by Gianna's bodyguard Cassian. Their brutal fight is halted when they crash into the reception area of the Rome Continental. As the two reluctantly share a drink, Cassian vows revenge for Gianna's death.

After John returns to New York City, D'Antonio opens a $7 million contract for John's death, leading numerous assassins to attack him (unsuccessfully). Cassian confronts John once again in the subway. John wins the ensuing fight, but spares Cassian's life out of professional respect. Injured and desperate, John seeks help from the underground crime lord The Bowery King, whose subordinates treat his injuries and guide him to D'Antonio's location. John kills D'Antonio's men and brutally stabs Ares after an intense fight, leaving her immobilized, but D'Antonio is able to escape to the Continental. D'Antonio makes it clear that he intends to seek indefinite refuge there, and John, despite Winston's warning, shoots and kills D'Antonio.

The next day, Winston tells John that, per the High Table, the contract on John has been doubled and offered globally. Thanks to Winston's influence, instead of being executed for killing on Continental ground, John is "excommunicado" and loses all access and privileges to underworld resources. Winston delays announcing John's excommunication and post of the bounty on him globally by one hour to give him a head start, and provides him with a Marker for future use. Before leaving, John asks Winston to send a message that he will kill anyone who comes after him. John, suspicious of everyone as hitmen all across New York set their eyes on him, flees on foot with his dog.

Cast

Development

In February 2015, directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch stated that a John Wick sequel had begun development. The same month Jon Feltheimer, CEO of Lionsgate, stated during a conference call that "We see John Wick as a multiple-title action franchise". Additionally, it was reported that Kolstad would return to write the screenplay. In May 2015, it was confirmed that a sequel was greenlit, and Lionsgate would be selling the film at the Cannes Film Festival. Reeves and Stahelski appeared in a 30 minute Aol.build interview in early February 2017 to discuss the development and casting of the film.

Casting

It was announced that Keanu Reeves, Leitch, and Stahelski would return, with filming set to begin in late 2015. In October 2015, Common joined the film to play the head of security for a female crime lord, and Ian McShane was confirmed to return as Winston, the owner of the Continental Hotel. In November 2015, Bridget Moynahan, John Leguizamo, Thomas Sadoski, and Lance Reddick were confirmed to return, while Ruby Rose, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Peter Stormare were added to the cast. In December 2015, it was announced that Laurence Fishburne would appear in a supporting role.

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on October 26, 2015, in New York City. At the end of first week, filming had taken place in Manhattan. Filming moved to Italy (Roma) next, and later resumed in Montreal, Canada on October 27, 2016.

Music

In 2016, it was announced that Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard would return to write and compose the film's soundtrack.

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.

In the United Kingdom, the film was granted a 15 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification, after 23 seconds of a bloody injury within a suicide scene were removed to avoid an 18 rating. The film opened in UK cinemas on February 17, 2017, and was distributed by Warner Bros., with co-production from Lionsgate studio Summit Entertainment.

Australia is one of the last major countries to receive the film on May 11.

Box office

As of March 12, 2017, John Wick: Chapter 2 has grossed $87.4 million in the United States and Canada and $65.6 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $153 million. The film grossed $90.5 million in its first nine days of release, surpassing the entire theatrical gross of the first film ($88.8 million).

In the United States and Canada, the film opened alongside two other sequels, The Lego Batman Movie and Fifty Shades Darker, and was projected to gross around $20 million in its opening weekend. It earned $2.2 million from Thursday night previews at 2,400 theaters, an improvement over the $870,000 made by its predecessor. It made $11 million on its first day, nearly totaling the $14.4 million the first film made in its entire opening weekend. It went on to open to $30.4 million, more than double the opening weekend of the original film and finishing third at the box office behind The Lego Batman Movie ($53 million) and Fifty Shades Darker ($46.6 million). In its second weekend the film grossed $16.5 million (a drop of 45.8%), finishing 4th at the box office and making more in its second weekend than the original film made in its first.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 172 reviews, and an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "John Wick: Chapter 2 does what a sequel should—which in this case means doubling down on the non-stop, thrillingly choreographed action that made its predecessor so much fun." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.

Scott Tobias of Uproxx said the film improved upon the original, writing: "For better or worse—though mostly for better—it’s a full-scale assault on the senses, constantly pushing itself to greater feats of excess. At this rate, a third John Wick might trigger the apocalypse." Mike Rougeau of IGN gave the film an 8.5/10, stating that it "takes joy in expanding on the original’s lore", and praised the film as a vast improvement of its predecessor, in terms of action set pieces, fight choreography, cinematography, and writing. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it "the real deal" and "pure cinema".

Writing for Time magazine in February Stephanie Zacharek stated: "The pleasures of John Wick: Chapter 2 may be even greater than those of its predecessor—itself a symphonic achievement in scrappy, balls-out, action filmmaking—because in this one, there’s no puppy murder to endure...it’s lovers of humankind who are put to the test. John Wick: Chapter 2 asks the classic pulp question—Are human beings worth saving?—and delivers, with the right proportions of joy and sorrow, the classic pulp answer: Sometimes, no."

Both Richard Brody writing for The New Yorker and Stephen Colbert writing for screenrant.com saw secret societies as a significant motif recurring in the film. In his article "The World of John Wick Explained", Colbert stated: "John Wick introduced audiences to a dark, polished, and sharply dressed, underground criminal society full of assassins who (mostly) abide by an unspoken code of conduct and two explicit rules. While the first movie told a more intimate story that only hinted at the larger world of this secret society, John Wick: Chapter Two takes the titular character through several of the corners of this complex underworld, revealing even more about the world of John Wick. While very few of these customs are explicitly explained, there are still enough hints about the inner functionings of the various entities presented, giving us enough puzzle pieces to put together a loose sketch of this mysterious world of assassins."

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club complained that it "lacks the first film’s domino-effect momentum", though overall he reacted positively. In part, he praised the action scenes as "entertainingly surreal".

Sequel

In October 2016, Stahelski stated that a third film is in the works.