John Wick Chapter 2 begins where the first one ends. John Wick getting his car from the Russian mob boss that had it. And like the first installment, it's a lot of dead people flying.

John Wick is definitely back in the sequel. It continues because the story has to. The implications of his retiring from his retirement come back to haunt him. A marker which allowed him to retire was called in and he must do a job to cash in the marker. Reluctantly he does it and thus begins the big gang war in the the John Wick world.

This installment expands on the previous by fleshing out the rest of the world. From the Continental, the hotel for hitmen, to the gangs of the world who are try to rule the underground. It adds in a female hitman who doesn't say a word. It puts in Common who was a John Wick friend but is now an adversary. It opens the world up to being a self-contained universe. Now there will be other parts of the story -- the comic book, the novelization, the prequel, the direct-to-streaming animated web series. There will be lots of Wick to consume later.

That's why I didn't like it in the end as I knew that we are in another 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' situation. There will be more and more interconnected stories that will dilute the power of the first film. It will not stop until John Wick puts a bullet in its head.

3 of 5 stars.

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