John Wick: Chapter 2

That "Chapter 2" bit in the title of this film implies a certain amount of literary aspiration. It's may be something of a herring, as most action sequels hardly aspire to the literary levels of a classified ad in the back pages of "Guns & Ammo"--but that doesn't mean this movie is bad. On the contrary, there's intelligence here, as well as the wisdom to tell a story that doesn't just rehash the plot of the first film. This installment certainly delivers its intended aspiration, which is to say, an avalanche of ass-kicking and outright murder on an industrial scale, most of it served with something close to the elan and panache that marked the original. The sequel may lack the surprises and freshness that the first film delivered--though there are a few novelties herein--but overall it succeeds on its own terms, and maybe then some as well. We've come a long way from the days when the second movie in an action series was doomed to be Van Damme-level schlock; this one works, and if they're interested in pulling the trigger again, I'd be up for it.