Peter Stormare’s role in John Wick: Chapter 2 is small but memorable - as is his “pencil” speech. Keanu Reeves is an icon thanks to the Bill & Ted movies and The Matrix, but around the early 2010s his career was somewhat in limbo. The mixed response to The Day The Earth Stood Still hurt his blockbuster credentials, while 2013 bomb 47 Ronin saw him stick to smaller movies. John Wick was a modestly budgeted action film that seemingly came out of nowhere in 2014 to blow audiences away.
Keanu Reeves played the title character, a retired hitman mourning the loss of his wife when thugs break into his home. They steal his car and kill his puppy - a gift from his deceased wife - which sends Wick on a bloody rampage. The film featured slick action, a richly detailed underworld and a supporting cast featuring Willem Dafoe, Ian McShane, and Lance Reddick. It became a surprise success and has spawned a major franchise. John Wick: Chapter 2 saw John framed for a hit, while John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum found him dealing with the fallout of the previous movie. Naturally, this involved an extremely high bodycount.
Since the release of the original in 2014, John Wick the character has become an action icon, with John Wick: Chapter 4 already scheduled for 2021. One thing the franchise does well is building a mythology around Wick, who is seen by the criminal underworld as a borderline supernatural figure. The movie’s themselves somewhat subverts this, because while Wick is a badass, he also regularly gets wounded or beaten. Easily one of the best ominous speeches about the “Baba Yaga” comes from John Wick: Chapter 2, which features an opening scene with Peter Stormare’s character explaining just how unstoppable he is.
Peter Stormare is a familiar face to movie fans and has worked with Keanu Reeves on the likes of Constantine. In John Wick: Chapter 2 he plays Abram Tarasov, the brother of Viggo, the main antagonist of the first movie. Viggo’s son Iosef (Alfie Allen, Game Of Thrones) is the one who killed John’s dog, setting off a bodycount that’s still climbing in the franchise. The opening of Chapter 2 finds Abram detailing how Wick killed his brother and nephew - and that he has Wick’s stolen car in his inventory.
Needless to say, Wick shows up and stealthily starts taking out Tarasov’s men, while Peter Stormare hams up a storm detailing John Wick’s skills. John Wick: Chapter 2’s opening finds Abram explaining to a henchman that Wick is a man of unparalleled focus and commitment and that he once killed three men with a pencil - which Wick later demonstrated for viewers. While Stormare’s part is small, its the perfect scene-setter for the sequel, and re-establishes Wick’s abilities for viewers in the most entertaining manner possible.
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