As he did in the first enormously successful movie, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) wants to retire from his life as a contract killer, but his old associates won't let him. Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) wants to cash in on an old debt and John must reluctantly return to his old profession to kill Santino's sister Gianna (Claudio Gerini). When there's a bounty placed on John's head as well, hench people like Ares (Ruby Rose), Gianna's bodyguard Cassian (Common) and the rest of the underworld are suddenly after him.

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While the first John Wick movie was too simple and formulaic for my taste, John Wick: Chapter Two surprises with its innovative imagery. Destiny knocks on John's door, just as he's trying to bury his arsenal of weapons again under a layer of cement. While he was sucked into the life of a contract killer last time because his doggy was killed, this time it's his house that the gangsters blow up.

The first movie was dark and seemed to have been filmed through a layer of fog. Chapter 2 on the other hand is bright and clear. From the postcard-shots of Rome's sights to the phone-operators, who accept calls from killers and contractors as if they were greetings for the radio request show, every scene is doused in luscious color. The fights are choreographed like a ballet, at times moody in Rome's catacombs, other times shrill under the neon-lights of a subway station. A highlight is the showdown in a mirror-cabinet exhibit, called "reflections of the soul". A technical masterpiece, since nowhere in the hundreds of mirrors do you ever see a camera, a mike boom or a cable.

Keanu Reeves still works as an action hero. Like Liam Neeson's role in Taken, the character of John Wick is tailor made for him. He is buffer, yet more reticent than ever. When he enters the Continental Hotel with his new dog and asks the concierge (Lance Reddick) "Do you board?", we are not sure if he's requesting for the dog or himself. However, the Roman branch of the hotel for killers has all the amenities. From a 24-hour-doctor to a tailor for suits that will stop bullets, John Wick is afforded everything that will ensure his survival for Chapter Three.