Debt payment is red. Review of ”John Wick II”
The first film about a former hired killer, whose car was stolen and a dog killed, did not become a high-profile event in our box office. Although Keanu Reeves starring is a seductive name on posters, the picture has only been shown in a very limited number of theaters. And even after the rental, the tape did not acquire a cult status, as, for example, similar in style to "Drive", even though the scene of the shootout from the club under the hypnotizing track "LED Spirals" from Le Castle Vania still appears periodically in various film communities on the Internet.A sequel, originally titled John Wick. Chapter Two "will be definitely more popular than the original. Moreover, this circumstance is marvelously combined with the very spirit of the second part, which has undergone noticeable changes. If the original story was stylized as oldb-movie(but was not a category B film in the true sense of the word), then the second chapter, thanks to the increased budget, is already looking towards modern Hollywood action films.  Having dealt with Joseph and Viggo Tarasovs in the finale of the first picture, shabby (just a couple of fatal wounds) John Wick finds himself a new pet - this time the favorite dog of the former killer was a pit bull puppy. But the vendetta is not over, " John Wick II " starts as if after a minute of commercial break, immediately immersing the viewer in the thick of events. Wick comes to the last surviving leader of the Tarasovs clan and, having killed a couple dozen more bandit minions, offers him peace over a glass of strong alcohol.  John once again, in the most literal way, buries the ax of war (a whole arsenal of personal firearms) in the basement of his house, and again for a short time. To continue the story, screenwriter Derek Kolstad chose the most obvious solution at first glance. On the threshold of Wick , the very past appears again, from which he is trying to get rid of. The hero of Reeves is approached by Santino di Antonio (Riccardo Scamarchio) - a handsome Italian in a luxury suit with a slightly disheveled hairdo and almost colorless eyes, giving him a cunning feline look. It turns out that John is an old debtor to Di Antonio . And the concept of debt in the underworld is an important thing. Here, a simple solution turns into an elegant way to turn the conventionally decorative world of the first part into an almost comic universe filled with rules and internal logic. In between the "arenas", where Wick is just as effective and simply dealt with crowds of criminals, the viewer will be reminded what the " Continental " hotel is, and tell you that the mafia clans have some kind of rule. Their bosses are pirate lords who follow a special pirate code. The relationship within the world of the mafia and the assassins is governed by special moral norms. And it is the violation of first one and then another rule that will provoke a chain of events, which will make Wick a real outcast. In a word, mythology grows with each new episode of the film, acquiring an absolutely amazing scale in the finale.  But we must understand that the development of this world in depth is just an excuse to once again arrange a two-hour extravaganza of point-blank shots and throws over the hip - a real deadly choreography, strikingly different from what we see in most modern action games. What is worth only is that hand-to-hand combat here is not cut by editing on each blow, but looks like a karate kata with real opponents.  The image of Wick himself has also played with new colors: now he is either a special agent, or the very same character in comics. His indispensable invulnerability to the middle of the film becomes completely indecent. He has proprietary techniques that form a fighting style like the standard police-special forces two in the chest and in the head, famous from the first part of the murder with a pencil and his beloved pistol, the barrel of which looks at enemies not directly, but with a foolish angle of thirty degrees. It also adds gizmos inherent in Hollywood action movies like a bulletproof jacket, as well as several references to cult classics. What can we say about the sonorous nickname, the status of the legend of the underworld and the very title " Chapter Two ". In general, after the release of the sequel, it became clear that if the planned sequel goes on the same rails, the creators will not be able to make Wick a new John McClane . After all, John is a character from a completely different era, and his most important characteristic is his obvious superiority over the enemy.  You can start worrying about the further development of the franchise right now. The increased budget allowed the film to significantly expand the geography and richness of the action, but practically did not change its essence. And the most amazing thing is that all the flirting with scale has become a disservice to the film. What for the first time seemed like an ideal implementation of the author's idea of a choreographically verified action movie, now, while retaining the amazing charm of bloody murders, now looks almost like a standard film with the only difference that the rating here, of course, is not 12+. The open ending makes you think treacherously: “Yes, this won't work the third time”. Now the creators will have to either more actively work out the world, characters and history, abandoning its conventional spirit, or shift towards other genres. Obviously, the first will not be easy, and the second will turn John Wick into a completely different movie.  The second film lost the charming silence, severity and psychopathic character of the original project. If desired, John Wick from the first tape could be given some kind of diagnosis. His depression is abruptly replaced by rage, he is killing hundreds of people because of a dead dog, albeit one symbolizing a departed love - why not turn to a psychiatrist? Too much logic appeared in the sequel - in fact, this is a story about responsibility for your actions. But it still delivers exceptional visual pleasure. Deadly dances performed by Reeves are still beautiful in their brevity: no wrestling pirouettes, no offhand shooting in the manner of Westerns. Each action of the hero is as effective and accurate as possible. Separately, it is worth mentioning the shootings in the hall, created from thousands of mirrors: so far, this is the most impressive movie episode of the new year, which, apparently, will take the place of the very "club scene" from the first part.  Thanks to the efforts of Chad Stahelski , John Wick is still a great, even the best action movie today. The continuation, as it were, legitimizes the character in the world of cinema, simultaneously killing his peculiarity and uniqueness. It can be seen that the authors and actors are pleased to work on their project, that they are ready to continue it. However, the problem is that viewers of Baba Yaga can get bored before Stahelski and Reeves . The Topic of Article: Debt payment is red. Review of ”John Wick II”. |
