‘Ballerina’: A Surprisingly Solid Entry In The World Of ‘John Wick’

Having fantastic action scenes and a paper-thin plot is practically a pre-requisite for movies in the John Wick franchise, and its highly enjoyable spinoff Ballerina is no different. It’s the first movie in the series without Keanu Reeves as the lead – though he features heavily – but newcomer Ana de Armas brings enough charm and physicality to the role to carve out her own corner in this world of endless assassins.

Ana de Armas is Eve Macarro, a woman trained in the very John Wick ways of assassination after the death of her father at the hands of a mystery cult. Saved by series regular and owner of The Continental Winston (Ian McShane), she soon becomes both a ballerina and full-time murder pro. But when she encounters the group responsible for her father’s death, she’s off on a particularly bloody path of revenge.

The appeal of John Wick movies has never been in having intricate plots that mine the depths of its characters. These have always been films with rather shallow but functional scripts that clearly set up the stakes while obviously serving mostly as connective tissue between plot elements.

Ballerina director Len Wiseman and writer Shay Hatten inherit this philosophy wholesale, though it results in a much clunkier start than other films in the franchise. Eve’s backstory is a bit overwrought and full of characters with fairly little bearing on the plot, including a criminally underutilised Sharon Duncan-Brewster.

Ballerina doesn’t reinvent the John Wick playbook, but it bends the rules

But once it gets past its opening half hour or so, Ballerina is a genuinely fun entry in this modern action mainstay. It certainly exists in the shadow of John Wick, taking place during the third film and with regular appearances from the mythic Baba Yaga, but there’s enough that feels fresh here that the film doesn’t feel like a total retread with a new actress.

It helps that Ana de Armas is game for the gruelling choreography that a John Wick movie entails. Eve is a distinctly different fighter from Wick – encouraged to “fight like a girl” in a somewhat groanworthy scene – which makes de Armas’ commitment to the choreography and character astounding. It’s clear she’s doing it all herself, with a particularly jaw-dropping flamethrower duel showcasing this clearly. Frankly, she kicks ass.

Though she fights differently, Ballerina has plenty of John Wick DNA in it. This manifests most prominently in the second half of the movie, which takes place in a cult-controlled town where literally every adult is a a trained killer. It’s honestly some bleakly hilarious world-building that even a snowy small town is filled with endless armed killers.

The choreographers seemed to have a blast giving Eve a variety of hilarious ways to attack her innumerable assailants, including ice skates and what feels like a kitchen full of plates smashed within the span of a minute… even if there’s occasionally spotty editing and the fact that they somehow forget to incorporate ballet into her attacks. It’s called Ballerina!

Solid action outweighs Ballerina‘s flaws

The strength of the action is enough to gloss over some of the film’s measurably weaker elements. The appearance of Keanu Reeves as John Wick is fun, but does feel undeniably like a bit of a crutch for this weak script. Many elements of the narrative feel underutilised, even by this franchise’s standards; a mid-film “reveal” amounts to practically nothing amidst the enticingly endless action.

The villains of the film have very little to offer, too. Gabirel Byrne chews the scenery as a mysterious cult leader known only as The Chancellor, but the actual group is never developed. All that’s known is that they hate when their members leave, shown in a far-too-short appearance from Norman Reedus as Daniel Pine and his young daughter.

None of these flaws stop Ballerina from being plenty of fun though, especially so when it’s going beyond its John Wick confines. It’s unlikely to boggle the mind with its approach to narrative, but a genuinely fun approach to action and a charismatic lead in Ana de Armas keeps Ballerina from feeling too rote as both an individual effort and piece of franchise building.

★★★½

Ballerina is in cinemas now.