“God loves violence... Why else would there be so much of it? It's in us. It's what we are. We wage war, we burn sacrifices, and pillage and plunder and tear at the flesh of our brothers. And why? Because God gave us violence to wage in his honor... There's no moral order at all. There's just this: can my violence conquer yours?”

If it’s John Wick asking the question, the answer seems indisputably to be yes. A bigger question is, is the Warden referring to the ravaging trials and unforgiving landscapes of an island prison, or to the John Wick franchise?

Once I made peace with the fact I don't like the last few scenes of this film much at all, (and that this is more of an openly depraved show of craftsmanship than anything that might narratively be taken uber-seriously) the rest really does come off much better. Most of it. Honestly I could take:

- Horse chase
- Casablanca free-for-all
- Bridge motorcycles 
- Continental hunt

and leave the rest. But darn it, seeing it tonight in super high def, in the comfort of a living room with full freedom to laugh out loud, wail, holler and giggle along with John's massacretastic fun-times, gave us a pretty good romp. Unlike the first go round, I actually felt super on board with another installment, as John's belabored and ultra-gritty "Yeeah." made me cheer. I did ignore the last few fights though, because as I wrote last time, they're yawn-inducing. 

But hell, the rest of it certainly is not. It's the choreography that really got my attention this time. Exquisitely rendered, brilliantly captured in one-shots with just enough of the preparation showing to make one appreciate the genuine craft of these things but not too much to ruin the relentless energy of the "story" - which doesn't have much going for it other than this breathless, relentless onslaught feeling, to be honest. Thankfully, when they do that they do it well so yeah, I'll probably see JW4. Here's hoping not only lovely Keanu, but also Halle, Laurence, Lance, and Zouks are up for it.