For fans of stylish action flicks, the wait forJohn Wick: Chapter 2has been an ordeal that has fostered tremendous impatience, but it’s almost over. In a few weeks,Keanu Reeves' supernaturally talented assassin of the title will arrive back in theaters to face-off against a whole new host of friends, villains, and colleagues, played by the likes ofCommon,Ruby Rose, andRiccardo Scamarcio, amongst others. The movie will also see Reeves reuniting with the greatLaurence Fishburne, in the role of The Bowery King, and will feature a variety of returning performers likeIan McShane,Bridget Moynihan, andLance Reddick.
It’s rare that a sequel to an action film would have me counting down the days to release but here I am, crossing out dates on my Far Side calendar like waiting for release from prison. There are plenty of reasons why the originalJohn Wickcontinues to stick out as a paradigm of modern action filmmaking, right up there withThe Raid, its sequel, and theMission: Impossiblefranchise, but my reasons tend to wander back to its star. Though endlessly ridiculed for the spaced-out tone of his voice and a perceived lack of acting talent, Reeves is a bonafide star, one who very few directors have known how to utilize correctly.Gus Van Santfigured out a perfect outlet for him in his classicMy Own Private Idaho, andKathryn Bigelowmade a spectacle of his chemistry with the latePatrick Swayze, as well as his natural athleticism, in the classicPoint Break.
John Wick, however, is the ideal project for him, one in which his own personal philosophies about life, money, mentality, and Hollywood are reflected in the character’s specific perspective of his own ugly business. The latest batch of images forJohn Wick: Chapter 2, which you can take a look at below, don’t give much of any idea about whether the sequel will live up to the violent neon bliss of the original. That being said, with such paltry samplings from America’s big studios being flung into the multiplex these days, even ifJohn Wick: Chapter 2turns out to be a by-the-numbers shoot-em-up, it would qualify as a small triumph.
Here are the latest batch of images fromJohn Wick: Chapter 2:
