John Wick: Chapter 2 - Blu-ray

Film: John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is back! After avenging the death of his dog, the hitman still recovers his beloved 1969 Mustang from Russian gangsters. Now he can finally return to the retirement from which he was violently torn. But no sooner has he reburied his weapons than Italian gangster Santino D`Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) shows up at his house to collect on an old debt. When Wick refuses, the gangster makes it clear to him in truly explosive fashion that this is impossible. And so John Wick reluctantly agrees to kill D`Antonio`s sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini) in Rome. But D`Antonio wants to eliminate any trace by which Gianna`s death could be traced back to him. And so Wick himself is suddenly targeted by hit men who leave no stone unturned to kill him. Time for him to show why he was once considered the best hitman in the world.

With John Wick: Chapter 2, the much-anticipated sequel to 2015's surprise hit came to our cinemas and even managed to surpass the success of the first film. Directed once again by former stuntman Chad Stahelski, who once again took great care to ensure that the stunts and fights were all real and - with the exception of a lot of blood - no CGI effects were used. Once again, he sends the suitably stoic Keanu Reeves on a bloody mission into the underworld - this time not just of New York, but of Rome as well. The secret world that was outlined in rudimentary fashion in the first installment is expanded upon much further here, which prevents the sequel from being a mere knock-off of the first film. Rather, the story is consistently carried forward and whipped to a dramatic turning point that makes you very much want to see a third part where nothing would ever be the same again.

The action and fight sequences are once again top notch. Admittedly, with the countless head shots Wick dishes out here, some signs of fatigue eventually set in. In addition, the surprise effect, with which part 1 could come up with, is missing. At that time you just didn't expect such an uncompromising and entertaining action thriller. With Chapter 2, there is admittedly a certain expectation that may be too high for some viewers to be met.

No question, Stahelski has once again directed a stylish and extremely entertaining action film with some dry humor and quite a bit of hand-crafted action. The fact that he overshoots the mark in a few scenes is perfectly tolerable given the many well-done moments - from the initial chase in Wick's '69 Mustang to a fight in a mirror maze. And the finale, which shuffles the cards completely new, is then so successful that you like to overlook some lengths anyway. Therefore: If you liked Keanu Reeves in his new parade role already the first time, you will be extremely well entertained again. A solid action flick of the old school - for this you definitely get a: Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The film's color scheme is perfectly matched to the scenery. Overall sharpness is at a very high level, with convincing detail even in dark scenes. The DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 mix is extremely powerful, with the action scenes, of course, being where the strengths are primarily played out. Bullets really do fly around your ears here. Very good!

Extras: In addition to an informative audio commentary by director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves, the Blu-ray also has three dropped scenes (approx. 8:09 min.), as well as 10 featurettes with a total running time of 64 minutes on offer. The short documentaries deal with the success of the first film, the training of the actors, the camera work, the stunts, the action, the complex criminal world or the great car chase at the beginning of the film. At the end it becomes very amusing when counting how many corpses pave the way of John Wick and when a trailer shows how part 1 would have looked like if not John Wick avenged his dog, but the dog avenged John Wick.

Conclusion: John Wick: Chapter 2 is a very entertaining old school action movie. Even if the surprise effect of the first part is missing and some moments are badly overdone, the film is still really fun. The Blu-ray convinces with a good audiovisual realization of the film and also has about 70 minutes of worth seeing extras on board. For this there is a clear: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp