'Ballerina' review: Thrilling, bloody, ridiculous
What started as a low-budget film that could have gone straight-to-video, the original John Wick changed the face of action cinema, paving the way for action movies made by stunt people who come from a love of the genre and have worked within it. While the first instalment was more elegant in its story about a retired assassin best on revenge for those who killed his dog, the sequels would not only expand the world of assassins, but also pushing the action even further, continuously proving that Keanu Reeves is one of our great action stars.
After John Wick: Chapter 4 which felt like the perfect end for the former hitman, often referred as the Baba Yaga, the franchise has become too successful to let go, as we are not only for expecting a fifth film with Reeves and series director Chad Stahelski, but a number of spin-offs including Ballerina. Originally a spec script by Shay Hatten in 2017, Ballerina would be reworked to be part of the John Wick series, while Hatten himself would go on to write the aforementioned Chapter 4. With Len Wiseman as director, the film began principal photography in 2022, only to get heavily delayed with an uncredited Stahelski doing major reshoots without Wiseman’s involvement.
With Ballerina’s complicated production history, the evidence is there on screen, even if it still has many of the hallmarks you expect from this franchise. Set in-between the last two John Wick sequels, the spin-off centers on Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), who at a young age, witnessed the death of her father. Finding a new home, she is trained for years as both a ballerina and an assassin under the traditions of the Ruska Roma. When she gets the chance to get her revenge, Eve stops following the rules and goes full Wick in her own right.
In the world of John Wick, revenge seems to be a universal theme, but whereas the 2014 original was simple and elegant in its quest for vengeance, Ballerina can get quite messy. The first half-hour shows us Eve’s introduction to the world of assassins, which gives us a fresh perspective in that we see the hard training that she goes through, all the way to her first assignment in the field. It also helps that Ana de Armas is a captivated screen presence as she previously proved her action credentials in No Time to Die and now front and center here in set-pieces where she is thrown and beaten but holds her own with a variety of weaponry.
While you do get returning elements from the franchise, such as Ian McShane’s Winston and the late Lance Reddick’s final appearance as Charon – along with Keanu Reeves who briefly appears for an appearance, just for the sake of fan service – the storytelling throws a lot with not much clarity. Len Wiseman is no stranger to action, but his skills as a storyteller are often lacking as like in Live Free or Die Hard and his Total Recall remake, he often relies too much on the action at the expense of exposition. Whether the action itself is from Wiseman doing a Stahelski impersonation or it’s Stahelski himself with the reshooting, the action is ridiculously fun, though the film would slow down in places. Even John Wick knew when to take a breather.
‘Ballerina’ review: Thrilling, bloody, ridiculous
Ballerina
The amount of future content within the John Wick franchise is somewhat worrisome, and whilst Ballerina has its own issues, it remains a very enjoyable spin-off that carries the action-packed legacy of the Baba Yaga.
Ana de Armas cements herself as an action star.
The thrilling action that is bloody and ridiculous.
Nice seeing familar faces from this franchise, including a brief appearance from Keanu Reeves...
...even if it's there for the sake of fan service.
The reworking within production is evident on screen, resulting in a messy story that relies too heavily on the action.
