One of the biggest surprise hits to come out of 2014 was that action flick John Wick starring Keanu Reeves. Recently they are rereleased the original on 4kUltra HD Combo Pack in celebration of the next chapter in the series. Now Reeves is gearing up once again for vengeance for Jon Wick: Chapter 2 co-starring Ruby Rose, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, John Leguizamo, Peter Stormare, and Common, but can it live up to the badassery of the original film or will it run out of ammo before finishing the job?

​

John Wick: Chapter 2 follows hitman John Wick who is once again forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild.  Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest killers. I love the first film and was easily my favorite action film of 2014 so I tried to keep my expectations low for the follow up because how could they possibly top what they had already done. To my pleasant surprise hey have not only topped the first film they have delivered an action cinematic masterpiece. This film firmly keeps the mythos from the previous film intact while taking Wick down a new path without just rehashing the first film.

​

Reeves clearly loves playing this character and not only nails all of the action in the film, but also brings a shimmer of pain to the role so you never quite forget how tortured he is and what really set him back on this path. Not only have they brought in some great new cast members most notably both Franco Nero and Laurence Fishburne who are both awesome here, but plenty of familiar faces right down to the neighborhood cop he spoke with in the first film played great by Thomas Sadoski. As a hardcore fan of Leguizamo I was really hoping he would get more to do this time around, but he has a really great scene and you are reminded that he could be heavier into play for the third film when it happens. 

​

The stories to both of these films are pretty simple, but this one steps things up a bit by expanding this mysterious world of the assassins. One of the best non action sequences of the entire film is a montage of Wick preparing for his next mission and seeing all that they do to get what they need and who they go about it. It will have you smiling with glee at the creativity of it all. No one goes into a John Wick movie not expecting great action and this one does not disappoint. From the opening of the film they remind you the kind of film you are in for with a non-stop adrenaline ride of car crashes and bones breaking. They have really pulled out all the stops for the action with every moment being better than the next and will have you cheering with excitement as the fists and bullets fly in a rain of blood soaked chaos.

​

I love this movie more than the first and more than I can even convey. The ending is setting up a new journey for Wick that will no doubt be even more insane than this should it come to fruition and I am already both nervous and excited to see what they can pull off. If you enjoyed John Wick then Chapter 2 will make your brain explode with how badass and awesome it is.