Since the release of the original John Wick in 2014, the eponymous character has achieved an almost mythical status, both in real life and his own universe. He’s an unstoppable force of an assassin, capable of facing entire armies of indistinct mobster gunmen single-handedly. The character’s pencil anecdote alone is enough to make him notorious.
However, he’s also a sympathetic character. In the first film, the ex-assassin’s wife dies of cancer. In his mourning, Wick finds new purpose in taking care of the puppy his wife leaves for him. When the punk son of a high-profile Russian mobster robs him and kills his dog, Wick returns to the assassin’s life on a revenge quest.
The ensuing story follows the vengeance and redemption of a character with too few reasons to live and too many dead bodies on his conscience. The ending to this story does provide solid closure, but there is also still enough to expand on the original film. That’s how we got John Wick: Chapter 2.
Instead of being its own story, John Wick: Chapter 2 acts as more of a continuation. While the last film ended with John’s achieving victory over the people who killed his dog and stole his car, Chapter 2 concludes with mixed results. On one hand, John finally takes down Santino D’Antonio, the Italian mob boss who barred him from his second retirement after the events of the first film. On the other hand, John kills D’Antonio on the grounds of the Continental Hotel, leaving his fate uncertain.
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