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The Rewatchables ·

John Wick: Chapter 2

year 2017decade 10sdirector Chad Stahelskigenre Actiongenre Crimegenre Thrillergenre Neo-noir
host Bill Simmonshost Sean Fennesseyhost Chris Ryan
All 15 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 18:58

The subway concourse pursuit and knife fight with Common

The document could have been written without rewatching because the movie is so clearly centered around six scenes; the first is the chop-shop opener where John Wick gets his car back, one of the most intense openings for an action movie, including shooting the giant guy in the kneecaps instead of fighting him, and garages are liked in general; it is called essentially a four-way tie between action scenes.

After he kills Gianna he goes down to the nightclub and finds Common, with the 'you working?' exchange and the stare-down, then runs off the stage shooting people at close range, an action scene unlike any seen before; it is the first real gunplay since the garage was mostly beatings, the house music runs throughout, and the venue is a Roman ruin or outdoor palladium with hundreds of extras.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie · 55:43

"You have a beautiful home, John."

Lines written down: 'You have a beautiful home, John', a foreboding one; 'Rules. Without them, we live with the animals'; 'Mr. Wick. Do enjoy your party' from the sommelier (transcribed 'Somalia') after he walks out with the guns; and 'This rounds on me. Consider it professional courtesy'.

The film

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

Directed by Chad Stahelski · Action

122 minutes

IMDb
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Keanu Reeves John Wick
Riccardo Scamarcio Santino D'Antonio
Claudia Gerini Gianna D'Antonio
Ian McShane Winston Scott
Ruby Rose Ares
Common Cassian
Laurence Fishburne the "Bowery King"
Lance Reddick Charon
Peter Stormare Abram Tarasov
Franco Nero Julius
John Leguizamo Aurelio
Bridget Moynahan Helen Wick

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

18:58

Most Rewatchable Scene

The subway concourse pursuit and knife fight with Common

The subway concourse pursuit and knife fight with Common

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:58Read transcript
  • The document could have been written without rewatching because the movie is so clearly centered around six scenes; the first is the chop-shop opener where John Wick gets his car back, one of the most intense openings for an action movie, including shooting the giant guy in the kneecaps instead of fighting him, and garages are liked in general; it is called essentially a four-way tie between action scenes.
  • After he kills Gianna he goes down to the nightclub and finds Common, with the 'you working?' exchange and the stare-down, then runs off the stage shooting people at close range, an action scene unlike any seen before; it is the first real gunplay since the garage was mostly beatings, the house music runs throughout, and the venue is a Roman ruin or outdoor palladium with hundreds of extras.
  • The cave shootout is liked for one film-nerdy reason: it is clearly an allusion to the sewer chase in The Third Man, one host's favorite movie of all time, though without 900 henchmen shot in the face; he leaves guns around and has thousands of bullets, with the asterisk that henchmen shoot at him point blank from nine or ten feet and miss.
  • Common versus Wick is made its own scene: hit by the car, the whole fight, and the drink at the Continental; the seven-million-dollar contract going out with attacks everywhere, two people killed with a pencil, the stealth silencer shooting while walking along, the subway concourse into the train and the knife fight; knife fights are underrated, and a bystander would have gotten off the subway after watching ten seconds.
  • Wick crashing Santino's art gallery is another rewatchable, as is Santino eating duck fat fries at the Continental before being blown away, still shocking after ten viewings; the ending with the hour's head start, everybody stopping in Central Park and the music starting is the last of the six.
  • Two other nominees: the lead-up to Gianna's death, where she goes into the bathtub saying she lived her life her way, beautifully shot, with the actress identified as Claudia Garini (as transcribed), mostly in Italian work and in Passion of the Christ, which sets off a Peter Gabriel Last Temptation versus Passion mix-up; and the whole Bowery King sequence with Fishburne, the negotiation for a gun, seven bullets for seven million, and the 'somebody, please' line.
  • Asked for favorites, one host takes the nightclub fight, which took the movie to another level; another goes subway concourse for the hyper, slightly futuristic underworld version of New York, boarding at Lincoln Center and heading south through Tokyo-like concourses, the musician attacking, the silencer fight with Common and the knife left in the aorta as a courtesy; a second voice says that is their pick too, noting the movie calms down after its big set pieces and then dials up again.
  • The knife fight is great and Common is loved, so a further vote goes to that scene as well.
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26:01

What’s Aged the Best?

The whole concept of the Continental, the markers and the assassin world

The whole concept of the Continental, the markers and the assassin world

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:01Read transcript
  • John Wick loves his wife, his dog and his car; add two kids and that is one host, who likes two of his three dogs and is told to free Olivia; it is called super weird that weirdos secretly relate to the most evil assassin in history, and another host relates too, since Wick has a dog, a car and principles but a lonely life.
  • Why Common is so loyal to Gianna is questioned, since he seems out for revenge rather than the seven million; he was down in the nightclub because she told him to go upstairs and greet the guests, a poor choice on her part, and he is blamed the way Brett Brown is blamed for the Sixers loss.
  • The two rules that cannot be broken, no blood on Continental grounds and every marker must be honored, are a pick: out-there rules that people stick to, with an almost childlike tag or capture-the-flag logic where arcane expansions get added; the whole construction of the Continental and its mythology with its cool figures is called genius.
  • The gearing-up sequence has aged well: the tailor in the back of the Chinese laundromat, the weapon sommelier in Italy asking how his tasting is, even the bank, the whole secret alternate universe.
  • The Continental drink scene with Common is loved because the two men are trying to kill each other and then have a cocktail, with Common made to drink gin from a tall glass and looking like a dork; the Gianna scene is creepy but great, with a weird vibe, and it took a couple of viewings to understand that he shoots her to save her from hell, with a great overhead shot of the blood pooling.
  • Chad Stahelski directed all three films and the first was co-directed with David Leitch, who went on to Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde and the forthcoming Hobbs and Shaw; both were Keanu's stuntmen for years, Chad on The Matrix, and the cinematographer made Danish genre movies before becoming the key cinematographer for the director of The Shape of Water, so a pulpy, bloody movie is made by brilliant artisans, which is the sweet spot; the joke is John Wick 2 is Shape of Water except entertaining.
  • The honor of the contract killers and the markers ties it to a Western or samurai movie, a classical action setup where a promise must be kept and even the killing has to be done a certain way; caring about Gianna not going to hell shows a moral guy, and honor and codes are called classic Long Island.
  • Putting a contract out like buying a stock or calling an operator has aged well; if the world were real one host would bet on it, Common at plus 700, though bookies would never take bets on the undefeated Wick, the Kevin Durant or the Mountain of assassins.
  • The Continental is picked as a world to live in, Soho House for assassins and a rich-guy hangout, though at 800 dollars a night nobody needs a Labrador in the lobby, like a Kempton (as transcribed); Lance Reddick from The Wire as the concierge has a shaky accent; the red leather bar is one of the favorite movie bars, with hotel bars around Columbus Circle the closest New York equivalents; a boutique hotel renaming itself the Continental would be ballsy, a promo stay has been done, and the Intercontinental chain makes the name confusing.
  • No movie ever set up a sequel better than the end of John Wick 2, the best version of wanting the next one now.
  • Ian McShane as Winston is the best use of his late-period speechifying, a great guy to hand three pages of dialogue; he would have won the Dion Waiters for John Wick 1, which the show never covered; here he shows up in three key sequences and explains the mythology, making rather than giving the rules.
  • Compared with over-plotted Marvel, Game of Thrones and J.J. Abrams movies stitched together, the simplicity has aged best: an understandable story with time to embellish, no comic-book or Wikipedia homework, and an exception to the fear of telling simple stories that cannot spawn five sequels.
  • McShane calling him Jonathan is both condescending and respectful, like someone calling you Christopher; everything McShane says is a rhetorical question.
  • Shea Serrano calls the speaker Seanathan, which he thinks started after John Wick came out (transcribed as 'won'), and it is in his face all the time. — Sean Fennessey
  • The final agreement is the whole concept of the Continental, the markers and this world, with the coins as part of it: how much they are worth, how many he has, how heavy they are and why they never fall out when he rolls around.
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36:21

What’s Aged the Worst?

Henchmen firing point blank and missing, including Aries's crew while Wick holds up his coat; Jordan Hoffman's Guardi...

Henchmen firing point blank and missing, including Aries's crew while Wick holds up his coat; Jordan Hoffman's Guardian 'gun pornography' review; nobody saying Wick never could have outfought Santino

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:21Read transcript
  • Not a lot: the point-blank shooting at John Wick in the cave, and the scene where Ruby Rose's Aries (as transcribed) and five people shoot at him while he holds his coat up as if it will stop bullets, which it theoretically does since it is bulletproof, but the part is not great.
  • The other pick is Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian calling the film a shameful example of Hollywood gun pornography with a video-game aesthetic and only trace elements of a plot, wondering where the line of decency is; one voice agrees with everything except 'shameful', tells him to fuck right off, calls it a terrible take and the thing that has aged worst, and says not to go to John Wick 2 if you cannot handle violence.
  • In the run-up the hosts had talked about approaching the film cautiously given the state of the world, but it turned out to be really fun; it is the 2019 Predator or Rambo 2, and taking it seriously is your own problem.
  • One more small one: a missed opportunity for someone to say he never could have outfought Santino, since Santino dies undefeated; the lack of a love interest is fine because he is still mourning his wife with the Bridget Moynihan callback, Halle Berry may be something in three, and he pulls the knife out of Ruby Rose while leaving it in with Cassian.
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38:48

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Peter Stormare as Tarasov; Gianna; Franco Nero as Julius

Peter Stormare as Tarasov; Gianna; Franco Nero as Julius

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:48Read transcript
  • A lot of candidates; Peter Stormare's Tarasov is a great five minutes at the top, with reactions and everything, a guy who starts at 11 with no warm-up time; Michael Nyquist played Tarasov in the first film and Stormare plays his brother, both Russians played by Swedish actors.
  • Gianna is one host's pick; Common, in only a couple of scenes, is still in it too much to be Dion, and Fishburne is slightly too much as well; Tarasov is called the definition of a Dion Waiters (transcribed 'demon later'), so over the top for five minutes.
  • Franco Nero as Julius, manager of the Rome Continental, greets John as an old friend and immediately asks whether he is there to kill the Pope; a larger question is that Gianna's coronation as a mafia boss involves clergy high up in the Vatican, with a cardinal at the club.
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44:52

Apex Mountain

No affirmative selection

No affirmative selection

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:52Read transcript
  • This is an interesting Keanu conversation: Matrix 1 or 2 had to be his peak, though the comeback is impressive enough to suggest an Apex Comeback Mountain; another argues for Speed, since in 99 he was not at his most powerful, and he turned down Speed 2, a smart move that was a bad one for Jason Patrick (as transcribed); regardless, it is not this film and nobody's Apex Mountain.
  • The joking nominations are The Lake House for Keanu, and Hardball, for which one host made a strong case because of the death of G Baby; Diane Lane in Hardball as the hot schoolteacher attracted to a degenerate gambler is certainly not her peak, which is The Perfect Storm, quoted with 'You and me, Bobby'; her real peak will come when she appears on the podcast, which a marker from the wife may forbid.
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47:11

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Thomas Sadowski (as transcribed), the cop who appears in both films

Thomas Sadowski (as transcribed), the cop who appears in both films

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:11Read transcript
  • The whole movie is that-guys; Tarasov has been seen in 40 movies without anyone knowing the name, making him a rare possible Dion Waiters and Joey Pants double; the guy from The Wire is a case but people know his name; it is Peter Stormare, a well-known actor from Fargo and The Big Lebowski.
  • Thomas Sadowski (as transcribed), Don from The Newsroom, who plays the cop in both films, is the pick and is agreed to be a good call; Ruby Rose does not get it since she has no dialogue, and her credits include Orange is the New Black, Resident Evil movies, the Meg and now playing Bat girl (as transcribed); Leguizamo as the mechanic Aurelio is up there, though he is Leguizamo.
  • Leguizamo's friendship with Wick almost went in what aged worst: how did they become friends, do they hang out on a Tuesday night watching Mets against the Braves with Sicilian pizza delivered to his Joe house, and Aurelio simply agrees to fix the car.
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50:06

Is This Movie Better With…?

All three: Steve Buscemi in the Continental, Danny Trejo among the assassins, Michael K. Williams alongside Fishburne...

All three: Steve Buscemi in the Continental, Danny Trejo among the assassins, Michael K. Williams alongside Fishburne's Bowery King

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:06Read transcript
  • The category is brought back for this movie and all three would have ruled: they should all be assassins trying to kill Wick, Buscemi would be a great Continental guy or bartender in the vein of his Miller's Crossing character, Trejo one of the assassins when the first call goes out, and Michael K. Williams could run the Motel 6 empire with Fishburne as the Bowery Prince to his Bowery King.
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50:37

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Santino; Fishburne's Bowery King

Santino; Fishburne's Bowery King

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:37Read transcript
  • Addressed as the one who loves overacting most, he wants to go with Santino, who really lays it on thick. — Chris Ryan
  • Santino's duck fat scene is cited; McShane could be argued, on the theory that he will be in any action movie as long as he wears a nice suit, stays stationary, gives a speech and cashes his check, two pages of dialogue or he is out, but the pick stays Santino.
  • The counter is that it has to be Fishburne, the most scene-chewing Fishburne in forever, hamming it up with the 'somebody please' line reading, dialed up so far that Forrest Whitaker (as transcribed) would be calling his agent.
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59:55

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Yes, as a Continental series, which Starz has already greenlit as The Continental

Yes, as a Continental series, which Starz has already greenlit as The Continental

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:55Read transcript
  • Nobody would touch John Wick itself, but the Continental as a show is an easy sell, and it is already happening: a John Wick universe show called The Continental on Starz (transcribed 'stars'), greenlit in January 2018 with Chris Collins as showrunner, due next year and set among the assassins inside the hotel, with Reddick and McShane expected; it is the first time a category has come to life as a fact, and the answer to a ten-episode show is yes, perhaps too rich for Netflix.
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1:00:38

Who Won the Movie?

Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:38Read transcript
  • Who won the movie cannot really be run because it is obviously Keanu, so the wrinkle is who won the movie that was not Keanu.
  • Common is the non-Keanu winner: a big look and a big win, because he made Cassian seem like a cool, important character to the series, an iconic foe almost up to John's standards even though nothing is learned about him.
  • An unexpected consequence: the speaker's father saw Common introduced as a rapper, maybe at a basketball game, and asked whether his son knew Common was a rapper. — Bill Simmons
  • The father needs a copy of Like Water for Chocolate and The Sixth Sense produced by DJ Premier, having thought Common was a movie assassin or an AI spokesman; his Sonos played Coldplay for three years, and a 300-song 1998-2005 rap playlist would leave him super confused.
  • Whether Cassian is dead is uncertain since he was never seen dying, so he could return in John Wick 3 or appear in the Starz show as a flashback set a couple of years before Chapter 2, rolling around the Continental.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Keanu Reeves
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Mentions across The Rewatchables

Recorded movie reference

Aliens

The Rewatchables · aired August 31, 2026

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