If you’ve read my previous review for the first John Wick film, you may be surprised to find that for the second night in a row, I’ve watched the next instalment. What can I say, I’m committed to the cause. Plus, I didn’t have a lot of wiggle room in my schedule to have a night off.

Initially I was concerned as the runtime for the sequel is another 21 minutes longer and the opening sequence felt like it was going to be a rinse and repeat of the first. However, I am happy to report that I found Chapter 2 much more enjoyable than the first!

One could say a contributing factor may be that my expectations started off low and while conscious of this fact, I don’t think that’s the sole reason.

John Wick: Chapter 2 certainly followed some of the same patterns as the first instalment and for a franchise that make sense as you want to establish what your brand is about. The difference is this one feels like it has a little bit more going on. It’s a good example of a simple plot done right. They obviously had some learnings and/or more freedoms to do what they wanted in chapter 2.

There were improvements with the dialogue as well as the acting. Nice to see a bit of a Matrix reunion building with the addition of Lawrence Fishburne. At times I did find some of the dialogue ridiculous but there was more going on to district from these things which is why I don’t think I was as bothered.

I do have to make mention of the lack of women representation in the main cast that has carried over. One of the women is only included for a scene (don’t worry, not a spoiler) and the other cannot speak. I did like the idea of having a character in that world who signs, and she has a pretty high position. They could have easily cast another man in the role and I guess not many of the men in similar roles have that many lines. I’ll be interested to see how this may or may not change in the next couple of instalments, as there is room for improvement.

Now, onto the good stuff.

Again, this film is shot beautifully well. It has a very good look to it, so another kudos to the direction and cinemaphotography – it seems they have also kept the things done right! While I don’t play many video games myself anymore, these films do give off the feeling like the viewer is watching a video game play out. And I like it!

The action sequences were quite enjoyable with a wide variety on show including cars, guns, knives, and fists. Even the random explosions felt like they were done better in chapter two. Fans can also enjoy a return on the build-up of the killing three guys with a pencil story.

My last call out will go to a cameo with Peter Serafinowicz. The scene he is in has a lot of great word play and it is just a delight. Serafinowicz has a great many credits but I always remember him from roles in Black Books and Spaced. So I was happy to see him and that he was in a great scene.

This now leaves me in a tricky place on how I would rate this film. While I did enjoy it more than the first John Wick, I’m not sure that really makes it a ‘Good’ film either.

I would say that if these films are your jam, you’ll like this one but there are probably other films out there in the genre that would be better.