John Wick 2 (5 Stars)

"John Wick: Chapter 2" takes the sleek, stripped-down revenge framework of "John Wick" and expands it into something far more elaborate; not just a sequel, but a deepening of a strange, ritualised underworld that now feels almost mythic in scope.

In the first film, the mythology was tantalising but restrained. We glimpsed a hidden society of assassins governed by codes, currencies and neutral zones; The Continental stood out as a kind of sanctuary, its rules lending the violence a peculiar sense of order. John Wick himself was less a man than a whispered legend; "Baba Yaga" invoked in hushed tones, his past suggested rather than explained.

"Chapter 2" decisively pulls back the curtain. The sequel introduces the idea that this world is not merely a loose network, but a fully institutionalised hierarchy with global reach. The High Table – an unseen governing body – shifts the tone from crime thriller to something closer to dark fantasy; power is abstract, distant and absolute. This is no longer just about gangsters; it is about systems that feel ancient and unbreakable.

The expansion is most effective in its details. The gold coins, already present in the first film, are given greater texture as a kind of all-purpose currency that transcends national borders. Blood oaths, embodied in the "marker", introduce a feudal element; obligation is literal, sealed in blood and enforced with ritual gravity. These touches suggest a society bound less by law than by tradition, as though the assassins operate under a code older than modern civilisation.

Crucially, the film also widens the geographical scope. Rome becomes a stage for this underworld’s operations, with its own Continental branch and its own local customs. This decentralised yet unified structure reinforces the sense that John Wick’s world exists parallel to our own; invisible, but everywhere. The mythology grows not by exposition dumps, but by showing how the same rules manifest in different places.

Yet there is a trade-off. As the mythology expands, John Wick himself becomes slightly less mysterious. In the first film, his legend was defined by absence; here, the film risks over-defining him by embedding him more concretely within the system. His past is no longer just rumour; it becomes contractual, bureaucratic. The danger is that myth turns into lore, and lore into something almost procedural.

That said, the sequel cleverly uses this very expansion to trap its protagonist. By formalising the rules of the assassin world, Chapter 2 turns them into a mechanism of inevitability. Wick is no longer simply avenging a personal loss; he is ensnared in obligations he cannot escape. The climax, set within the mirrored halls of a modern art museum, feels like a visual metaphor for this shift; infinite reflections of a man who can no longer step outside the system that defines him.

In the end, "John Wick: Chapter 2" succeeds not just by raising the stakes, but by redefining them. The violence is still balletic and precise, but it now unfolds within a world that feels governed by mythic rules rather than mere narrative convenience. Where the first film hinted at a hidden order, the sequel reveals it; vast, intricate and ultimately inescapable.

It's a bold move. By expanding its mythology so aggressively, the film risks diluting the elegance of the original’s simplicity. Yet it also lays the foundation for a saga that can sustain itself beyond a single act of revenge. John Wick is no longer just a story; it is a world, and in "Chapter 2", that world finally takes shape.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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John Wick 2 (5 Stars)

"John Wick 2" is the film in which the series really takes off. It establishes the hidden world alongside our own. In the first film we saw the Continental and the gold coins, but here we see more of the details of the parallel world. There are undercover assassins all over New York (and presumably the rest of the world). The homeless people begging on the streets have guns hidden under their blankets. There's a High Table with 12 seats, people who act as rulers over this parallel world. Some of them are obviously crime lords, but are they all evil? It's still not certain. We also see the bizarre tattooed women who use rotary phoes and other retro technology.

As I mentioned in a previous review, there's a deleted scene in which John Wick has an audience with the Pope. This scene is an interesting as the film itself, and I regret that it isn't included. It shows that the Pope is part of the parallel world. The two men obviously know one another.

Is the final showdown in the museum's mirror exhibition meant as a homage to the hall of mirrors in "Enter the Dragon"?

This exhibition is more high tech. There are digital images on the walls.

The area is larger. There are several floors.

I was unsure about how to rate the first film, but there's no doubt in my mind that "John Wick 2" is a five star film.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Django Unchained (5 Stars)

This is the latest selection from my top 100 film list that I decided to watch with my son Benjamin. It's currently in 40th place.

I don't have much to write about it today, apart from sharing some information I recently read.

There's a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio, playing the slave owner Calvin Candie, had to bang his hand on the table. He did this so vehemently that he broke a plate and cut his hand. This wasn't scripted, but it looked so good that the cameras continued to roll.

Is Samuel L. Jackson, the head slave Stephen, staring at Leonardo because of the unexpected blood on his hand?

Leonardo went on to smear his blood onto the face of Broomhilda, played by Kerry Washington. That's an amazing improvised scene. I'm surprised that Kerry even put up with it. Some actors are true professionals.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Nymph (4 Stars)

This film has been released with different names from country to country. The original title is "Mamula". In the UK it was released as "Killer Mermaid". In Australia it's called "Nymph", which is also the title of the German Blu-ray that I have in my hand, so I'll call it "Nymph".

I've given the film a four star rating, i.e. good, but I'm still disappointed. It could have been better with a little tweaking. It's a Serbian film, made in English and set in Montenegro. With the exception of Franco Nero and two American actresses, all the actors are Serbian. That's the first problem. Some of the actors, even the main characters, have such strong accents that it's difficult to understand them. I had to turn on the German subtitles, even though the dialogue is in English.

Tourists visiting the beautiful town of Rose in Montenegro are disappearing. Two Americans, Kelly and Lucy, are visiting Rose not just as a holiday, but to meet Alex, a local man who went to college with them in America. He's engaged to marry Yasmin, but there's tension because she knows that he slept with both the girls at college.

Together with a local fisherman, Boban, the four friends visit an island called Mamula. It was the location of a 19th Century prison, but now it's deserted. It's a strange place to visit. Of all the beautiful scenery in the film, Mamula is the least attractive.

A mermaid lives in the prison. The film tells us that she's one of the sirens from the story of Ulysses. Through her song she can enchant men. What the Greek legends didn't tell us is that the sirens were flesh eaters. She prefers not to swim close to the mainland, because she feels vulnerable to modern technology, so she's used her song to make an ex-soldier her slave. He uses a hook to kill tourists, mostly women, and bring them to her as food.

The mermaid in the film is beautiful and seductive, but we see that it's just an illusion. In reality she has an ugly face. That was unnecessary. The director should have let her remain the appearance of a beautiful woman. There are only brief glimpses of nudity. For most of the film the mermaid's long hair is super-glued to her breasts. That's not natural. When a long-haired woman swims in the water her hair sticks to her back, not her chest.

There's also too much going on in the film. Too many sub-plots and intrigues. "Nymph" would have been better if it had been simplified.

The film was released on DVD in Britain and America, but it's now out of print. It's available on Blu-ray in Germany, but you have to hurry if you want a copy. I found it in the bargain bin at Saturn, so it's obviously not too popular.

Die Hard 2 (4 Stars)

"How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?"

John McClane screams this question when he's up against a gang of terrorist mercenaries at Dallas International Airport. There's an easy answer to the question: it's a sequel, so you have to be doing the same things to keep the audience happy.

It's not quite the same. The first film took place in the top floors of a skyscraper. The second film doesn't take place so high up, it's in an airport, in the building and on the runway. But other things are the same. The film takes place at Christmas. John is a policeman away from his area of jurisdiction. Once more, he's one man facing overwhelming odds without the assistance of the police. On the contrary, the police are against him, telling him to stand down and let them do their work. In the first film he was a New York cop visiting Los Angeles. Now he's a Los Angeles cop visiting Dallas.

The problem is that the former leader of a South American country, General Ramon Esperanza, has been arrested for drug trafficking and is being brought to America to stand trial. He's not a typical drug lord. He's only been selling drugs to make money to finance his return to power.

A small army of mercenaries is waiting for him in Dallas, ready to free him as soon as he lands. John has an expert eye and spots two men entering a restricted area. That's what a good policeman does. He has eyes everywhere. The police chief at the airport doesn't spot anything. He just wants a quiet Christmas at the airport, and he thinks John is the one causing trouble. Even when he finally realises that he's dealing with terrorists, he tries to shut John out of the operation. The only person willing to help him is Marvin, an airport janitor who knows all the underground service tunnels to get from one end of the airport to the other.

Though not up to the level of the first film, it's a thrilling adventure. I have to praise the performance of Franco Nero as General Esperanza. He has a regal air about him that puts me in awe.

By the way, what's the deal with putting a film's title at the end of the film, not the beginning? I thought it was a recent fad, but "Die Hard 2" did it in 1990.

Success Rate:  + 1.4

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Django Unchained (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #35

I don't hesitate to call "Django Unchained" the best western ever made. When Quentin Tarantino made the film in 2012 he was deliberately breaking the rules that had been implicitly set for westerns for decades. The lead actor is black, which had only ever been done in the comedy "Blazing Saddles". Even more significantly, westerns have always ignored the subject of slavery. Slaves are never shown in westerns, even though slavery was common in the years before the Civil War. Tarantino doesn't just acknowledge slavery in this film, it's the main subject.

Django is a slave who's given his freedom by the bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz. He's a German who used to be a dentist. It's been five years since he last practised dentistry, but he still uses his wagon with a wobbly tooth on the top. It's difficult not to laugh.

Schultz's attitude to slavery isn't completely negative. Even though he says in an early scene that he's "no friend of slavery", he still purchases Django and keeps him as a slave until he's succeeded in killing the Brittle Brothers. After this he releases Django, and the two men become friends. He trains Django to become a bounty hunter, although it seems that not much training is necessary. Django is a natural when it comes to shooting people.

Schultz is naive when it comes to racism. He doesn't expect or understand the negative reaction to a black man riding a horse or walking around free.

Today is the fourth time I've watched the film, but I picked up a few small details that I didn't notice in the past. Django (Jamie Foxx) is enjoying a drink at the bar. He's joined by an Italian slaver called Amerigo Vessepi. He asks Django his name, then asks him if he knows how to spell it. Django tells Amerigo that the D is silent. Amerigo is played by Franco Nero, the actor who played the original Django in 1966.

After this Django is joined at the bar by Dr. Schultz, who's drinking a beer from a Bügelflasche, commonly called a flip-top bottle in English. This sort of beer bottle is common in Germany, but its use in the film is a blunder. The film takes place in 1858, but this type of bottle wasn't invented until 1875.

Bam! The sight of this young woman carrying an axe gave me such a shock that I had to pause the film. Could it possibly be Zoe Bell? I ran to my computer to check, and yes, it's her. I'm surprised that I never recognised her in the past.

She appears again in a later scene, where it's easier to recognise her. There's no special significance to her scenes. They're purely gratuitous. It's no secret that Quentin Tarantino is a fan of Zoe Bell, so he wanted to slip her into the film.

Quentin Tarantino plays a small role as an Australian miner. Is his accent any good? It sounds okay to me, but only an Australian can judge his accent. I welcome comments from my Australian readers.

Samuel L. Jackson plays a very untypical role. He's a slave, in theory, but he has a special position as the head of the household at the Candyland Plantation. He's a despicable character. He can be considered a traitor to his race. He unquestioningly accepts white superiority and looks down on the black slaves around him.

His boss is the head of the plantation, Calvin Candie, who's excellently portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. He typifies everything that people praise about the Old South. He's elegant, well-spoken and a perfect gentleman; and yet he's a bigoted racist.

I admit that I've never liked Jamie Foxx as an actor. He's usually bland and emotionless, but in "Django Unchained" he's wonderful. Somehow Quentin Tarantino can coax the best out of actors.

One of the things I like about all of Tarantino's films is the pacing. His films move slowly, with long periods of conversation between the action. I don't know any other director who can make this type of film so successfully.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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John Wick 2 (5 Stars)

Maybe I should change the title of this film. It was called "John Wick 2" when it was released in 2017, but its official name is now "John Wick Chapter 2". The first film has also been renamed "John Wick Chapter 1". 

Let's face it, Keanu Reeves has never been a great actor. It wasn't until "The Matrix" that a film was made that suited his cold performances. I thought that "The Matrix" would be the film he'd always be remembered for in his signature role as Neo. "The Matrix" is a better film, but I've changed my mind about Keanu Reeves. His signature role is John Wick, and that's how he'll always be remembered.

For some time I've been tempted to make an official kill count of the John Wick films. I've never got round to it. I don't have the patience to sit with my finger hovering over the pause button. Luckily, others have had the same idea and more patience. The kill count is supposedly:

John Wick Chapter 1: 77 kills

John Wick Chapter 2: 128 kills

John Wick Chapter 3: 94 kills

I'm not guaranteeing the numbers are correct. It's just what I've read. It's not easy to count the kills, because John always shoots his victims multiple times. He lives by two principles:

1) Never shoot someone once when two bullets are enough.

2) Never shoot someone twice when three bullets are enough.

I feel tempted to watch all three John Wick films back to back, but I don't want to delay my top 100 film countdown any more. I'll watch "John Wick 3" soon, I promise.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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John Wick 2 (5 Stars)

I've watched this wonderful film a few times, but today is the first time that I watched the deleted scenes on the Blu-ray. There's one scene that really should have been included. Omitting it removes an important part of the bizarre John Wick universe.

As people who have seen the film already know, John travels to Rome to assassinate Gianna D'Antonio, a member of the unnamed organisation's High Table. When he checks into Rome's Continental Hotel, the owner asks John if he's in Rome on business. When John replies Yes, he's asked if the target is the Pope, and relief is expressed that this isn't the case. The reason for this isn't stated, but I assumed that it means the Pope is respected as a religious leader.

The deleted scene puts this in a different context. John Wick visits the Vatican and announces to the Pope's secretary that he intends to kill Gianna D'Antonio. The secretary reports to the Pope, who comes out to give his approval with the words "Fortune favours the bold". John Wick kisses the Pope's ring in reverence.

This short scene reveals a few things. More accurately, it would have revealed them if it had been included. John Wick is known in the Vatican. The Pope is a senior figure in the organisation to which John Wick belongs. John's respect for the Pope seems to be based on his seniority, rather than any religious affiliation. The Pope accepts the ruthless killing practised by members of the organisation. It's curious that the Pope should speak the words "Fortune favours the bold". These very words are tattooed on John Wick's back. Until now I've assumed that this tattoo is proof that he was previously a member of the US marine corps, but the use of these words by the Pope points to it being a motto used by the organisation.

Why was this scene removed from the film? My guess is that it would have been too controversial. The film studio didn't want to tell people that the Pope is part of an organisation that kills people in cold blood.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Letters to Juliet (3 Stars)

This film is based on a tradition in the Italian city of Verona. It's devastating to me that people go along with it. It's a religious con without the religion.

In Verrona there's a house called Casa di Giulietta, Juliet's House, named after Juliet Capulet in Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". Women who have relationship problems write letters to Juliet asking for advice, and stick the letters to a wall outside the house, called Juliet's Wall. It's not just the women of Verona who do this, there are women who visit the house from all over the world.

This is similar to the Roman Catholic practise of praying to saints. Some people believe in saints, I don't, but I won't argue about it here. What's different about Juliet is that she isn't a divine representative of any religion, and she never even existed. She's just a fictional character invented by an English playwright, so what's the point in asking her for help?

But guess what? Any woman who leaves her name and address on her letter to Juliet receives a reply. Is that a divine miracle? Not quite. As the film shows, there's an organisation run by the tourist centre of Verona called the Secretaries of Juliet. The letters are collected every evening, and a group of women sit writing answers. When the reply arrives a few days later the heartbroken woman can shout, "Hallelujah! Praise Shakespeare!"

There's also something for the men. There's a statue of Juliet outside the house. Any man who touches the statue's breast will be lucky in love. That sounds somehow creepy, since Juliet in Shakespeare's play was only 13. If I want to be lucky in love I'd rather go speed dating.

All that is true, as ridiculous as it might sound. You can travel to Verona yourself to check it out, if you don't believe me. Now for the fictional part of the story.

Sophie Hall is a junior reporter from New York. She's on holiday in Verona with her fiance Victor, who's looking for exclusive items to serve in his restaurant. Sophie discovers Juliet's House by accident, after which she visits the Secretaries of Juliet to ask what it's all about. On the next day she finds a letter behind a loose stone that was written in 1957, more than 50 years ago, by a young English woman who was too scared to run away with her Italian lover Lorenzo. Sophie replies to the letter herself, telling the woman that it's never too late to go to the one you love. She signs the letter Juliet. Of course.

A few days later Claire Smith arrives in Verona with her grandson Charlie. He thinks it's all romantic nonsense, but his grandmother is now a widow and wants to look for Lorenzo. She also wants to meet Juliet. Together they go on a journey, meeting all the men in the vicinity called Lorenzo Bartolini. There are 74 listed in the phonebook, but it's possible to whittle the number down by eliminating the younger men.

Is it a spoiler to say that Claire finds her Lorenzo, who's also a widower? Not really. The viewer knows from the beginning that she'll be successful. They get married and live happily ever after.

What's worth mentioning is that Claire and Lorenzo are played by Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero, who are married in real life. It must have been a wonderfully romantic experience for them to get married again in the film.

There's also a romantic comedy subplot, which I won't go into, because that really would be a spoiler.

I greatly admire Amanda Seyfried as an actress, but I don't enjoy this film, despite the beautiful Italian scenery. It's not even the film's premise that disturbs me. Something about it is too light. The script could have been better, but don't ask me how. Something is missing that would turn this average film into a great film.

Success Rate:  + 0.7

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John Wick 2 (5 Stars)

In the second John Wick film the viewer is led further down the rabbit hole. In the first film we were introduced to a parallel world of honour killers, knights if you will, that exists alongside our normal everyday world in New York City. In the second film we find out that this world is much bigger. It's also present in other countries and other major cities, like Rome. A High Table with 12 members rules over this world. Yet another reference to knighthood? Apart from the hotels there's a retro style business company that operates with a 1950's style telephone exchange and 1970's style computers. Style is the key word for this parallel world. It's all about style. Most of it, anyway. On a rooftop in New York we find Laurence Fishburne ruling over a mini-empire of highly trained assassins disguised as homeless people; or maybe they're homeless people trained to be assassins. Whichever way round it is, they don't share the good style of the rest.

I can give away the end of this film, because it will be impossible to understand the third film without knowing what's already happened. The main rule of the Continental Hotel is that no business should be conducted on its grounds. Business means killing. John Wick breaks this rule by shooting the High Table member Santino in the head while he's eating. As a punishment he's excommunicated and is no longer allowed to use the hotel or any of its services. A bounty of $14 million is put on his head, and now he's alone with nobody to help him. The only friend he can rely on is his beautiful dog that he's never even given a name.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Die Hard 2 (4 Stars)

Like "Die Hard", this is another Christmas story, but only just. The word Christmas is used a few times to give the film a setting, but it has very little relevance to the story.

The film has been released with different names around the world. "Die Hard 2" is the original title used in the United States, but it's also called "Die Harder" in the UK and "Die Slowly" in Germany. In some countries it's called "58 Minutes to Live", because "Die Hard 2" is based on a novel called "58 Minutes" by Walter Wagner.

Once more John McClane is in action outside his jurisdiction as a New York police officer. He's at Washington DC's international airport waiting for his wife's plane to arrive from Los Angeles. He notices suspicious activity, which he passes on to the local police, but they don't believe him, so he has to do it all alone.

General Ramon Esperanza, the former dictator of a fictional South American country, is being extradited to the United States for drug trafficking. He's due to arrive soon. A team of mercenaries is waiting at the airport to free him on arrival. They shut off the lights and the communications systems at the airport, threatening to let all the aircraft circling overhead run out of fuel and crash if their demands aren't met. John McClane faces them as a one-man army. If he ever receives assistance from others, those who help him are incompetent and just get in his way.

This film isn't quite up to the standard of "Die Hard", but I still enjoyed it a lot. I miss the claustrophobic atmosphere of the first film. John McClane is doubtlessly Bruce Willis' signature role, however many good films he might have made in his life. He was one of the outstanding action heroes of the 20th Century, and his days aren't over yet.

Success Rate:  + 1.4

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John Wick 2 (4½ Stars)

In the first film it seemed like John Wick had wiped out the whole of the Russian mafia in New York. They called him the Baba Yaga, to express their fear and respect for him. In this film we see that there are a few left. After killing the minor henchmen he spares the leader's life and offers him a truce.

And that's just before the opening credits.

The John Wick films take place in a bizarre world that's parallel to where normal people like you and me live. All around us there are trained assassins who look harmless until they pull out their guns. They might look like a road sweeper, a busker or a mother pushing a pram.

These assassins live by a code. When they're required to kill another assassin they treat their opponents with courtesy. The most successful assassins are allowed to visit the Continental Hotel, a safe house. No business can be done in the hotel. You can share a drink with your enemies before walking out of the door to kill them. It's all very gentlemanly.

Maybe there are a few other rules. Before checking in to the Continental Hotel in Rome John Wick is asked if he intends to kill the Pope. He's off limits. The manager of the Continental Hotel in Rome is played by Franco Nero. He was 73 at the time the film was made, but he doesn't look a day over 50.

There are delightful homages to other films. Laurence Fishburne offers Keanu Reeves a choice of weapons. Now where have we seen that before?

Keanu Reeves has a shootout in a hall of mirrors. That's a throwback to "Enter the Dragon". Unfortunately Keanu has forgotten Bruce Lee's advice: "Destroy the image and you will break the enemy".

Keanu Reeves has good taste in dogs. This is the dog that he took from the rescue shelter at the end of the first film. He doesn't have a name. Let's just call him Dog.

Surprisingly, the critics like the film. Most of them, anyway. There must be something about the stylised killing sprees that appeals to them. It's not often that the film critics and the cinema audiences agree on something.

I need to watch the two John Wick films back to back. Maybe I'll do it soon. Maybe I'll wait until the third part is released next year.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Bathory (4 Stars)

This is the fourth film that I've watched this month about Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary. It tells a different story to the other films, even though it shows several of the same supporting characters. The director Juraj Jakubisko is Slovakian, and the place where Elizabeth Bathory lived is now part of Slovakia. His goal is obviously to put the Countess in a good light. Whereas the film "The Countess" suggested that she might not have done all the crimes attributed to her, this film states openly that she never bathed in blood.

This text from the end of the film shows a very one-sided version of the story. That's acceptable in itself. When telling true stories the writer and director have to interpret the past, especially if there are questions about the historical records. However, in order to discredit the "unsubstantiated accusations" of Gyorgi Thurzo the director invents stories of his own. For instance, Gyorgi captures peasant girls and puts them in Elizabeth's dungeon as proof that she is killing virgins. There are no records or even rumours of this being the case. The monks Peter and Cyril, both purely fictional characters, examine Elizabeth's bath water and discover that it's water mixed with red herbs, not blood at all. "Bathory" can't be taken seriously as a historical record.

That doesn't mean that Elizabeth Bathory is portrayed as a saint. She whips the servants who displease her, and she stabs a maid to death who makes a mistake while cutting her hair. That wasn't illegal under Hungarian law. As Countess she was allowed to kill her servants, and she was certainly allowed to whip as many men as she liked. What wasn't allowed was witchcraft, which included bathing in blood. That's why it was essential for Gyorgi Thurzo to prove this crime.

Ironically, in the film Elizabeth, a Protestant, was denounced as a witch by the Protestant pastor, while the Catholic monks spoke out in her defence. But as I already said, the monks were fictional characters, invented for the film. I wonder if the director is a Catholic who wanted to defend his religion.

Franco Nero appears as King Mathias II of Hungary. It's just one scene, but I was thrilled to see him. This is the only time I've seen him when he wasn't playing Django.

I can overlook the untruthfulness of this true story. What I don't like is the poor acting. The main characters, including Anna Friel, Karel Roden and Franco Nero, are all excellent actors. The problem is the supporting characters. They speak their lines flatly without emotion. Maybe they aren't bad actors, but that's how they appear from the way they speak. All of the minor actors and actresses are Slovakian, and they have to speak English. It's understandable that they sound mechanical when speaking in a foreign language.

The film was a flop. Understandably. Who's interested in Elizabeth Bathory outside of Hungary and Slovakia? It was a brave step for Juraj Jakubisko to make the film in English, but that wasn't enough to drag foreign viewers into the cinema.

I've decided to add a "success rate" to my film reviews, positive if it made a profit, negative if it made a loss, zero if it broke even. This is only an estimation, but it should give a picture of a film's success at the box office. I'd factor in DVD and Blu-ray sales, but they aren't public.

Success Rate:  - 3.4

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John Wick 2 (4 Stars)

"John Wick Chapter 2", to give the film its full name, starts with a bang. There's an action sequence with the formerly retired hitman to get the audience warmed up. If anything, the opening scenes which take place before the credits belong to the first film. It's all about cleaning up loose ends. In the first film he avenged his dog, but he didn't get his car back. That has to be done now.

After the credits the film starts properly. John Wick makes another attempt to retire, but he's soon pulled out of retirement again. He's called to honour a promise that he made in the past. One important thing about the society of assassins to which John belongs is that it's all about honour.

John is given a mission that he doesn't want to do, but he does it and succeeds. This isn't the end of the story. No amount of saying it was just business can excuse him in the eyes of his enemies. He's relentlessly pursued by people who don't like what he's done.

"John Wick 2" is a full blown action film. With the exception of a lull for about 20 minutes after the credits it's all about John Wick blasting his way against seemingly insurmountable odds. The action is crazy and over the top, but it's enjoyable. It's a film I need to see again as soon as possible.

I have one small warning for people who haven't seen the film yet. "John Wick 2" features many of the same characters and locations who appeared in the first film, but doesn't explain who they are. It's necessary to watch the first film first.