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MT 12 March 2017

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 MARCH 2017 38 This Week THE retired hit man John Wick (Keanu Reeves) thrilled audiences looking for some lean, mean action back in 2014, when the original in- stalment – written by Derek Kolstad and directed by Chad Stahelski – saw him blast his way through his former employers in the Russian mob after one of their number mur- ders his new puppy – a final parting gift from his deceased wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan). Now, Wick is once again rattled out of peaceful seclusion when a fellow assassin, Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) comes knocking to call in a favour. The Italian hit-man wants John to help him ascend to the highest rank in the Camorra by clearing the path… of his sister Gianna (Claudia Ger- ini). After being strong-armed into doing the deed – he is bound to Santiago by blood oath – Wick finds himself in a severely compro- mised position… with possibly the entire international cadre of assas- sins he used to call his colleagues now hot on his trail. One thing that's striking above all in the ever-expanding John Wick universe – a threequel has already been announced – is, well, just how mythical the whole thing is. Taking the classic action heroes of the 80s and 90s as its springboard – and hence succeeding where Syl- vester Stallone's well-meaning but ultimately flat Expendables saga floundered – Kolstad and Stahelski, who return to steer the sequel, go to great pains to create a heightened world that operates within its own logic. A logic which, as this second 'chapter' confirms with increased conviction, points to Wick being less of a semi-lobotomised hard- man in the Steven Segal tradition, and more of a multi-linguial, multi- talented hero whose quest rivals the likes of Odysseus in its symbolic import. Ian McShane's Winston is noth- ing short of a Gandalf/Merlin figure, and the 'safe space' for as- sassins he helps 'manage' – it has a strict code of ethics, and even its own currency – made it clear to us from the original film that realism isn't quite what Kolstad and Stahel- ski are going with here. This helps them to eschew some of the grating and infantile machismo that dogs films of this type – and that is likely to be thrilling only to boys up to the age of 15 or so – and plunges us into a clearly fantastical world, allowing us to dive into the over-the-top ri- diculousness of it all. For make no mistake, Reeves's Wick – the 'wooden' actor finally having found a role that fits his im- posing presence and kung-fu skills like a glove – is pitched as someone who is undergoing nothing short of a spirit quest, with religious lan- guage generously sprinkled across the film's lean running time. A be- trayal among hit-men is referred to as nothing less than "[stabbing] the devil in the back", while bazookaing their home is elevated to "burning down the temple". When a char- acter takes a fateful journey on a rusty black lift, he is reminded that he's "descending into hell", while the Roman 'catacombs' – really the Baths at Caracalla – that Wick has to weave and shoot himself through in a crucial sequence in fact evoke the underworld… with a bit of a Minatour vibe capping it all off. This extends to the wonderfully cartoonish characters that popu- late the film's cast – to say noth- ing of the central 'parliament of assassins' conceit – and Laurence Fishburne's The Bowery King, a pigeon-rearing criminal kingpin whose spies are disguised as New York hobos, would not appear out of place in something as fantastical as Neil Gaiman's urban fairytale Neverwhere. Of course, despite the air of loftiness these trappings sug- gest – whose classical allusions are bolstered in this case by the D'Antiono's myth-rich and ancient sculpture collection – the 'Wick- verse' remains a pulp playground first and foremost – with over-the- top characters littering the land- scape at crucial plot points while Wick vanquishes an assorted array of gun-and-knife-wielding grunts and henchmen with his trademark ruthless efficiency. But if this is a playground, it's one built with clarity and aplomb: all the toys are chosen and placed care- fully, and the rides are well-oiled and powered up for your maximum enjoyment. In what is something of a noble gesture in today's risk- averse and cost-cutting cinematic landscape, Stahelski and his team eschew the easy route of filming action scenes in lazy, maddening shaky-cam (which saves on editing time to mask stunt-work and the like) and instead shoot everything as clearly as can be. Every punch, stab, kick and bullet lands clearly for the audience to take grisly pleas- ure in, and the experience is satisfy- ing to the last. A pitch-perfect ride from start to finish, John Wick: Chapter 2 is not just a dumb action movie to help pass the time. It's an action movie done right, with a simple but clas- sically validated storytelling struc- ture that establishes an over-the- top world and embraces its overt ridiculousness while doing serious work of crafting a well-paced orgy of violence. IN CINEMAS TODAY Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 Kong: Skull Island (12A) 10:20, 13:30, 16:05, 18:40, 21:15 Fifty Shades Darker (18) 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 The LEGO Batman Movie (U) 10:20, 13:45 The Great Wall (12A) 16:00, 18:20, 20:40 Logan (15) 10:30, 14:30, 17:30, 20:30 Moonlight (15) 10:30, 13:40, 16:05, 18:30, 20:55 Viceroy's House (12A) 10:15, 13:45, 16:05, 18:25, 20:45 Valletta Living History (U) 10:00, 10:45, 11:30, 12:15, 13:00 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Logan (15) 12:45, 15:35, 18:25, 21:15 Hidden Figures (PG) 13:30, 16:05, 18:40, 21:15 Kong: Skull Island (12A) 13:40, 16:10, 18:40, 21:15, 23:10 Lion (PG) 13:40, 16:05, 18:35, 21:15 Denial (12A) 13:50, 16:10, 18:30, 21:00 John Wick: Chapter 2 (15) 13:50, 16:15, 18:45, 21:15, 23:45 The Great Wall (12A) 13:55, 16:15, 18:30, 20:55, 23:15 Sing (U) 14:00, 16:15, 18:35 Fifty Shades Darker (18) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:45 Moonlight (15) 14:00, 16:20, 18:40, 21:00, 23:25 Viceroy's House (12A) 14:05, 16:25, 18:40, 20:55, 23:15 The LEGO Batman Movie (U) 14:05, 16:20, 18:35, 20:50 Sweet Dreams (TBA) 14:30, 18:00, 20:50 Rings (15) 20:50 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 Viceroy's House (12A) 11:15, 14:00, 16:15, 18:30, 20:45 Logan (15) 11:00, 14:00, 18:00, 21:00 Fifty Shades Darker (18) 11:00, 13:45, 16:10, 18:35, 21:00 Kong: Skull Island (15) 10:45, 13:35, 16:05, 18:35, 21:05 The LEGO Batman Movie (U) 11:10, 14:00, 16:15, 18:35 The Great Wall (12A) 20:45 Hidden Figures (PG) 10:35, 13:15, 15:55, 18:35, 21:10 John Wick: Chapter 2 (15) 10:45, 13:30, 16:05, 18:35, 21:05 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ JOHN WICK ★ ★ ★ ★ KEEPING IT SLICK ★ ★ ★ MAKE IT QUICK ★ ★ A LITTLE THICK ★ SEASICK FILM By Teodor Reljic FILM: JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (15) ★ ★ ★ ★ Man on the run: Keanu Reeves returns as John Wick Fond farewell to a brutal teddy bear Hobo king: Lawrence Fishburne

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