As out-of-nowhere cult sensations go, John Wick made a pretty immediate impression in 2014. It was one of those rare movies in the streaming era that made people demand that their friend see this. Its beautifully single-minded revenge story ended up spawning a feature-length comedy riff on its excessive, dog-driven plot (Keanu), and it’s already getting a sequel with a far more prominent weekend for its release.
And why? In the simplest sense, it’s because John Wick is an impeccably well-made action movie, of a classic mold that’s often struggled to adapt in the time of shaky cinematography and rapid-fire editing. It harkens back to the kind of sleazy, hyper-violent action thriller that might have once starred Dolph Lundgren or Charles Bronson, and allowed Keanu Reeves to ably claim his place as a classic action hero of the modern era. (And impress the whole world with his shooting range skills along the way.)
Now, the full trailer for John Wick: Chapter Two suggests that the uncommonly deep world-building that stood as another highlight of the first movie will only continue on. After once again refusing to get back in the game, having re-settled into civilian life with a new canine companion, Wick has an open contract put on his head, inviting the best killers from around the world (apparently including Common, Ruby Rose, and Peter Stormare, among others) to try and take him down. But of course, this will mostly involve people learning, the hard way, just who John Wick is. Chad Stahelski returns as director (his co-director on the first film, David Leitch, has moved on to the next Deadpool), which will hopefully lead to more of the first film’s potent mix of well-crafted action filmmaking and self-aware genre humor.
John Wick: Chapter 2 will arrive on February 10th, just in time to meet any and all of your Valentine’s Day needs. In the meantime, revisit the film’s previous teaser trailer here.
