
Keanu Reeves puts his black suit on again as professional hitman John Wick — the guy who thought he was out of the game, but keeps getting forced back in.
Reluctant though he is, Wick may yet be the best in the business. That status is put to the test when he becomes involved in a lethal power struggle.
Ian McShane stays on as the owner of high-end criminal safehouse, the Continental hotel, with concierge Lance Reddick, car guru John Leguizamo, and evidence scrubber Charlie familiar faces for those that saw the first movie.
A cohort of new actors and characters join the action, including Laurence Fishburne as crime boss The Bowery King, plus Common (“Selma,” “Suicide Squad,”) Riccardo Scamarcio (“Burnt,”) and Ruby Rose (“xXx: Return of Xander Cage”) as other expert combatants.
And Wick’s wife, played by Bridget Moynahan, factors in some way, despite her death having set the first fiilm’s tone.
Who’s behind it?
Chad Stahelski, who co-directed 2014’s “John Wick,” is back in the seat for this sequel, which retains authorial continuity with Derek Kolstad again providing the script.
Composers Tyler Bates and Joel Richard also return, while cinematographer Dan Laustsen comes in from “Crimson Peak” and “Brotherhood of the Wolf.”
When’s it out?
While a world premiere took place January 30 in Los Angeles, everyone else waits until the week of February 10 for a theatrical release.
In fact, cinemagoers in Indonesia and the Philippines can see it from February 8, with audiences in Brazil, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Russia among those privy from the 9th.
Come February 10 and “John Wick 2” opens in the USA and Canada, Turkey, and Vietnam, while the following week sees expansion to Singapore and the UK and Ireland; French and Belgian release dates are among those set for the week of February 22.