---
title: "John Wick: Chapter 2: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/john-wick-chapter-2/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/john-wick-chapter-2"
critics_score: 71
critics_reviews: 26
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017): what the critics said

Critics' score 71 from 26 reviews: 20 positive, 2 mixed, 4 negative.

Most critics like it, and a fair number think it better than the first film. The praise clusters on the action: the long-take gunfights, the staging of Stahelski’s set pieces, and the sense that the violence has been arranged with the care of choreography rather than thrown together. Reeves’ physical commitment to the part is admired across the board, and the expanded assassins’ underworld, with its codes and its rules, is generally counted a pleasure rather than a burden.

The spread is wide, from four-star notices down to a single star. Where reviewers pull back, it is over the same things: too much mythology, a long middle stretch that repeats itself, and a hero so indestructible that the danger drains away. The Guardian finds it video-gamey; the New York Times misses the first film’s lightness; the Times calls it tedious. The dissent sits largely with the broadsheets, while trade and genre outlets are warm.

## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 February 2017. 

There is so much beautiful killing that the movie refuses to look away, yet it maintains a thrilling discipline in its long, choreographed action sequences. It is a connoisseur’s delight, a B-picture with an A-picture soul that showcases Reeves at his most watchable.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-john-wick-chapter2-review-2017-story.html)

## Variety — Peter Debruge

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 February 2017. 

This elegantly choreographed sequel elevates brutal confrontations to a dazzling form of modern dance, succeeding on the elegance of its action rather than story. It improves on the original with no animals harmed and a reunion with Laurence Fishburne, achieving something akin to ballet in its violence.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/john-wick-chapter-2-review-keanu-reeves-1201977230/)

## Empire — Chris Hewitt

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 February 2017. 

It expands the criminal underworld mythology and delivers stunning, stylish action sequences with sly humour, while Reeves fits the taciturn hitman role perfectly; a brutal, bruising bullet ballet of a sequel that builds on the original.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/john-wick-chapter-two-review/)

## Vulture

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 February 2017. 

The film settles into a bleak, ritualized bloodbath that is crazy-violent yet beautiful, with breathtaking long-take choreography and a mythic, rule-bound underworld.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2017/02/movie-review-john-wick-2-is-even-better-than-the-original.html)

## IndieWire — Eric Kohn

Rating B+. 6 February 2017. 

The film improves on the original's cartoonish mayhem with confident style and exuberant sequences while sticking to the franchise's simple, satisfying rhythms.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/john-wick-chapter-2-review-keanu-reeves-1201778273/)

## The AV Club — Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

Rating B+. 8 February 2017. 

The sequel ups the conceptual abstraction into a gothic, mythic journey through a stylized criminal underworld, with surreal action and visual gags taking precedence over pure momentum.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/chapter-2-gives-john-wick-an-irresistibly-surreal-follo-1798190399)

## Little White Lies — Matt Thrift

Rating 4/4/3. 6 February 2017. 

The critic finds the sequel less svelte than the original due to franchise expansion but praises Stahelski's assured handling of fluid, inventive action sequences and compositional flair.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/john-wick-chapter-2)

## Time Out — Tom Huddleston

Rating 4/5. 6 February 2017. 

The critic calls it a wildly enjoyable and ridiculous action flick that is a stupendously entertaining ride, highlighting the director's craft in staging punches and gunshots, the neon-lit style, and Keanu Reeves' cool performance.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/john-wick-chapter-two)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Justin Lowe

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 February 2017. 

The sequel ambitiously expands the underworld to a global scale with relentless stunts and Reeves' focused performance, though some plot developments dilute the central conflict.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/john-wick-chapter-2-review-972205/)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Rating 3/5. 16 February 2017. 

The sequel ramps up the action and carnage in an imaginatively designed way but is let down by excessive world-building and a video-gamey feel.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/16/john-wick-chapter-2-review-sequel-keanu-reeves)

## The Telegraph

Rating 3/5. 17 February 2017. 

Keanu Reeves's trigger-happy sequel gets the job done with solid action sequences.

[Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/john-wick-chapter-2-review-keanu-reevess-trigger-happy-sequel-gets/)

## The Independent

Rating ★★☆☆☆. 15 February 2017. 

The film is even more stylised than the first, with slick visuals and fight sequences shot like destructive ballet, but the plotting is far-fetched and the hero's near-indestructibility removes any real sense of threat.

[Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/film-reviews-roundup-the-founder-the-great-wall-john-wick-chapter-2-hidden-figures-a7581276.html)

## The New Yorker — Richard Brody

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 10 February 2017. 

The film is a mere technical exercise serving mainly as a trailer for its own making-of documentary, with no real stakes or emotional depth beyond the assassins' world. It offers a wilder ride than the first with more emphasis on the killer code and a paranoia-inducing twist, but remains a soulless display of violence.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/john-wick-chapter-2-is-just-a-trailer-for-chapter-3)

## The New York Times — Jeannette Catsoulis

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 9 February 2017. 

The sequel is a more solemn and excessive affair than the original, with less of the first film's lightness and wit. It doubles the body count to showcase spectacular fight sequences in Roman locations, where the camera lingers on weaponry with more interest than on the human characters.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/movies/john-wick-chapter-2-review-keanu-reeves.html)

## The Times — Kevin Maher

Rating 1/5. 17 February 2017. 

This gore-splattered sequel has no attempt at a plot and is bully-bore cinema at its worst, tedious despite the violence.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/john-wick-chapter-2-m6cj3q93p)

## Den of Geek — Don Kaye

Rating 4 out of 5. 6 February 2017. 

The critic calls it superior to the predecessor in almost every way, with gorgeous visuals, expanded surreal world-building and jaw-dropping action sequences. Singles out the extended neon-lit house-of-mirrors chase for particular visual praise.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/john-wick-chapter-2-review/)

## NME — Nick Levine

Rating 4. 15 February 2017. 

The critic says the sequel offers similar thrills on a grander scale with dazzling action choreographed with gruesome elegance. Singles out the tense and unpredictable moments amid the killing sprees for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/john-wick-chapter-2-film-review-1976654)

## Paste — Jim Vorel

Rating 8.4. 8 February 2017. 

The critic praises the film as a worthy sequel with spectacular, vital gunplay choreography that rivals The Raid films and highlights the colorful supporting characters and world-building.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/john-wick-2/john-wick-chapter-2-review)

## Digital Spy — Tom Eames

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 February 2017. 

The critic praises the film as even better than the first, with fantastic choreography and realistic carnage in the action scenes, plus a strong supporting cast and welcome humour. Singles out Keanu Reeves' committed physical performance for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a820786/john-wick-chapter-2-review-keanu-reeves/)

## Polygon — Julia Alexander

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 February 2017. 

The critic calls it a near-perfect follow-up that combines the original's ingredients with self-awareness about its ridiculousness, making the grander action sequences feel smarter and funnier while perfecting the gun fu style.

[Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/2017/2/6/14514590/john-wick-2-review)

## HeyUGuys — Stefan Pape

Rating 4/5. 8 February 2017. 

The critic praises the film's unrelenting high-octane action and the artistry of its choreographed fight sequences, particularly the street brawl with Common. Some repetitiveness and length in the middle are noted, but the stylish, visceral experience stands out overall.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/john-wick-chapter-2-review/)

## The Ringer

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 February 2017. 

The critic describes the film as delivering brutal, beautiful violence that expands the hidden criminal world order and heightens the sense of danger and spontaneity in the action scenes.

[Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2017/02/10/movies/john-wick-chapter-2-review-163287ae96b6)

## The Wrap — Robert Abele

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 February 2017. 

The critic praises the expertly choreographed action sequences and long takes of gun-fu, while noting that the sequel lacks the original's sense of surprise but still delivers thrilling mayhem.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/john-wick-chapter-2-review-keanu-reeves/)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating B. 9 February 2017. 

The critic calls the film an escalation of the original that expands the assassin world with new rules and characters while delivering familiar stylish action, but notes the long fight scenes and lack of discomfort around the violence.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/john-wick-2-review/)

## The Playlist — Kevin Jagernauth

Rating B. 6 February 2017. 

The critic calls it a bullet-riddled blast that expands the mythology and delivers relentless, well-choreographed gunplay and hand-to-hand fights. A clumsy opening prologue is critiqued, but the fun action and anticipation for the next chapter are praised.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/john-wick-chapter-2-bullet-riddled-blast-review-keanu-reeves-20170206/)

## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 11 February 2017. 

The critic emphasizes the film's extreme violence and body count, positioning John Wick as a cool icon of modern action cinema in the vein of The Matrix. The relentless, stylized killing and memorable lines are highlighted as making it iconic entertainment.

[Read the review](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/john-wick-chapter-2-2017-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/john-wick-chapter-2.md