I’ll say this right off the bat: I love the first John Wick movie. I thought it was a very entertaining, fast-paced shoot-em-up with amazing action scenes, a great protagonist, and outstanding cinematography. What’s most surprising about it was that it took everybody completely off guard, because from trailers, no one expected it to be good. Then everyone saw it and loved it so much that it became a massive success at the box office. The first film was about John Wick (Keanu Reeves), a former, highly experienced professional hitman who was granted peaceful civilian retirement for unspeakable acts he’d done as part of his job. What drives him back into business is that the son of a Russian mob boss kills his dog, a gift that John Wick was given by his wife before she died, in the middle of a home invasion robbery. So he locks and loads the weapons from his underground storage, and unleashes hell on the entire Russian mob. Now, we have the sequel to John Wick, entitled John Wick: Chapter 2.

John Wick: Chapter 2 picks up where the original movie left off. After John Wick left retirement, an associate of his that he knew from his career declares to him that he owes him a blood-oath favor, which involves going to Rome to kill the associate’s sibling archrival to earn his spot as leader of his family’s ruling committee that takes control of all international hitman organizations. But once the mission is accomplished, the associate decides to discard any evidence of his involvement with John Wick and sets up a seven million dollar open contract on him, which allows every hitman worldwide to go after him. And from that point on, you’re in for one of the best action films of the year so far. John Wick: Chapter 2 is an action movie lover’s dream come true.

One of the best aspects that make this film work is Keanu Reeves as John Wick. Now, Keanu Reeves isn’t the best actor in the world, but he is one of those actors in which their charm and charisma make the character work as a whole. He’s done it before with movies like The Matrix series, Point Break, and Speed, and it works every single time. But what makes John Wick: Chapter 2 so spectacular is the terrifically executed shoot-out sequences, vicious yet satisfying kills–especially what he does with a pencil–and terrific cinematography where you can see exactly what’s going on when the action is taking place instead of a shaky cam style.

There are some minor flaws in John Wick: Chapter 2, one of which is the character motivation of John Wick; it isn’t as strong or emotional as its predecessor. What makes characters in films interesting, especially action movies is the choices they make as the movie progresses. In the first John Wick, his motive for attempting this impossible task was clear and made you root for him; you wanted to see him wipe out the entire mob of Russian criminals and gangsters. In John Wick: Chapter 2, he’s forced to do what he needs to do, and he doesn’t have much of choice. Another minor flaw I noticed was that the villain was a bit cliché and cookie-cutter, and he didn’t seem to be as much of a threat as other action movie villains.

Despite some of the minute flaws in this movie, John Wick: Chapter 2 is an action film worth watching, featuring enthralling action scenes, fantastic camerawork, and immaculate stunt work.