John Wick: Chapter 2
03/03/17 Filed in: Cinema
I didn't see Chapter 1, but the introductory sequence in this latest instalment reminds us that John Wick was brought out of retirement on that occasion to take revenge for a slain puppy. As well as killing the puppy, a present from John's terminally ill wife before she died, the Russian gangsters stole his vintage Ford Mustang Mach 1. The latest story opens with John going to retrieve his car and it's non-stop action from that point on. After taking out countless armed tough guys he gets his car back. It's a total wreck but his friendly garage man says he can fix it - by 2030!
All the foregoing just sets the scene. The real story starts when Italian crime lord Santino D'Antonio calls at John's house, asking him to honour a 'marker', an unbreakable promise in the form of a blood oath. John says that that life is behind him, but D'Antonio soon makes it clear that is not an acceptable answer. John visits 'The Boss', Winston, at the Continental Hotel in New York, this apparently being the hub of an assassins' syndicate. We later see the organisation in action, when we're shown an office full of what appear to be very ordinary female office workers, save perhaps for their tattoos, who are arranging 'hits' in the same way as they might be placing purchase orders within any other company.
Winston's advice to John is that he should accept the marker, do the deed, and then he could go back to his 'retirement'. Reluctantly he agrees. He then finds out that the 'job' is to kill D'Antonio's sister, Gianna, such that Santino can take her place at the 'High Table'.
All the foregoing just sets the scene. The real story starts when Italian crime lord Santino D'Antonio calls at John's house, asking him to honour a 'marker', an unbreakable promise in the form of a blood oath. John says that that life is behind him, but D'Antonio soon makes it clear that is not an acceptable answer. John visits 'The Boss', Winston, at the Continental Hotel in New York, this apparently being the hub of an assassins' syndicate. We later see the organisation in action, when we're shown an office full of what appear to be very ordinary female office workers, save perhaps for their tattoos, who are arranging 'hits' in the same way as they might be placing purchase orders within any other company.
Winston's advice to John is that he should accept the marker, do the deed, and then he could go back to his 'retirement'. Reluctantly he agrees. He then finds out that the 'job' is to kill D'Antonio's sister, Gianna, such that Santino can take her place at the 'High Table'.
The action moves to Rome, where John equips himself with the necessary firepower from a sommelier with a difference, is fitted for a couple of suits lined with bullet-proof material and buys plans to secretly enter a celebratory party being held for Gianna. The deed is done, although not quite in the way you might expect, and John ends up shooting his way out of the melee, only to find that Santino's bodyguard and a small army of men are waiting for him. Santino wants to clear up the loose ends. There follows absolute carnage as John brings down an uncountable number of assailants, blood flying everywhere in true Tarantinoesque fashion.
Santino panics upon learning that John is still alive and puts out a general $7m contract on him, so when he returns to New York every assassin in town is gunning for him. Having taken out a number of killers, John, who is now injured, contacts the crime lord Bowery King, once one of John's victims, who survived thanks to John's 'leniency'. It's a big ask for King to help, but he does and John sets off after Santino.
And so we move to the final showdown. Once again there is lots of blood and multiple fatalities, John ultimately chasing Santino to where he has taken refuge in the Continental Hotel. There John has a choice that could have a dramatic affect on his future. Suffice it to say that the choice he makes will almost certainly lead to Chapter 3 of the John Wick story.
Santino panics upon learning that John is still alive and puts out a general $7m contract on him, so when he returns to New York every assassin in town is gunning for him. Having taken out a number of killers, John, who is now injured, contacts the crime lord Bowery King, once one of John's victims, who survived thanks to John's 'leniency'. It's a big ask for King to help, but he does and John sets off after Santino.
And so we move to the final showdown. Once again there is lots of blood and multiple fatalities, John ultimately chasing Santino to where he has taken refuge in the Continental Hotel. There John has a choice that could have a dramatic affect on his future. Suffice it to say that the choice he makes will almost certainly lead to Chapter 3 of the John Wick story.