John Wick is one of my favourite modern action franchises. John Wick: Chapter 4 is easily one of my favourite action movies of all time and served as a satisfying conclusion, as far as I was concerned. Ballerina is the first spinoff in this universe, and I definitely had some concerns going in. The first red flag was the director, Len Wiseman. Known for Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard, and that awful Total Recall remake, he wasn’t someone I had full confidence in. Then the film got delayed by an entire year, and Chad Stahelski, the director of the John Wick movies, reportedly stepped in for reshoots. So the question is: does Ballerina stick the landing, or was this franchise best left alone?
First off, Ana de Armas, who plays the lead role of Eve Macarro, is terrific! She showed great action potential in her limited screen time in the James Bond film No Time to Die (2021). Here, with a full two-hour runtime, she gets to truly showcase her action chops, and she absolutely delivers. She’s phenomenal in both the stunts and the fight choreography, all while remaining a convincingly badass presence. While her mission is one of revenge, similar to John’s, she’s definitely more expressive and emotionally open, which I appreciated.
I also loved the film’s acknowledgment that she’s physically weaker than most of her male opponents, so she has to fight smart. In many of the action scenes, you don’t see her mowing down enemies like John Wick; she gets beaten up a lot. Instead, she uses clever tactics and tools to gain the upper hand, which results in some truly creative action set pieces. There’s an excellent, albeit ridiculous, grenade scene that’s so dumb it’s brilliant. There’s also a fun sequence involving ice skates and a phenomenal flamethrower moment that was just glorious! The second and third acts are packed with action, so the pacing never drags. Plus, Le Castle Vania returns with some banging new tracks that really elevate the intensity of the fight scenes.
That said, the first act is a bit slow. It takes a while to get going, as it focuses on Eve’s origin and her training. It’s justified, but still noticeably slower. Once the revenge plot kicks in, though, the film shifts into high gear. As for my gripes: I found the villain group Eve is after to be a bit too ridiculous, even for the John Wick universe. It’s unclear how they function, and while they’re supposedly mysterious, they somehow have huge numbers. I know this is a world where nearly everyone’s an assassin, so maybe I shouldn’t overthink it, but I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
Plot-wise, it’s mostly a straightforward revenge story, which is fine. However, there’s an interesting revelation in the third act that the film frustratingly does nothing with. It could’ve created a more interesting conflict for Eve but ends up going nowhere. John Wick himself returns, and while his cameo in the first act makes sense, his appearance in the final act does not. At the end of Chapter 3, he was betrayed, injured, and hell-bent on vengeance. Ballerina is set between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, so it doesn’t make sense for him to be involved in this at all, he should be in hiding. To make matters worse, his appearance overshadows Eve and adds nothing to the plot. It’s clearly a reshoot added for fan service. Even the ending of Ballerina mirrors that of one of the previous John Wick films, which felt a bit lazy.
Nevertheless, Ballerina is a successful spinoff that captures the same absurd and thrilling energy of the John Wick series. I enjoyed it immensely and am definitely looking forward to future entries!
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