By George & Josh Bate
Over the past decade, Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski have forged John Wick into the predominant action movie franchise. Employing innovative stunts and pioneering what has become known as ‘gun-fu,’ the four John Wick films have stood toe-to-toe with the very best of the James Bond and Mission: Impossible franchises, even surpassing these franchises in recent years with the dynamism and creativity of their action. Given the world-building that has occurred across the four John Wick films surrounding The Continental hotels and the global collective of assassins, it seems only natural that a spin-off film would eventually come to fruition. That spin-off, Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas as the lead assassin, more than earns its place alongside the four John Wick movies by embracing (almost) all of the elements that make a John Wick movie a John Wick movie.
Ballerina (or known by its full title From the World of John Wick: Ballerina) stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, an assassin training in the tradition of the Ruska Roma under the mentorship of the Director (Anjelica Huston). On one of her first missions, Eve comes across a mysterious marking that the men who killed her father years ago also brandished. Driven by a desire to exact revenge, Eve travels all around the world to investigate this marking, a journey that has her clash with a variety of expert assassins, including John Wick (Keanu Reeves) himself.
There are a few essential ingredients that make a John Wick film a John Wick film. First and foremost, you have to have that singular brand of action choreography that skyrocketed John Wick to the apex of the action genre – the kind of choreography that is admirable for its intricacy and consistently quite humorous (albeit in a morbid manner). You also have to have the world of The Continental, the system of hotels around the world that house a myriad of colorful assassins, in addition to the range of electic gunsmiths, tailors, and tattoo-brandishing telephone workers all around the world. It also wouldn’t be a John Wick film without some pumping EDM tunes to accompany all the fights and globe trotting and, of course, a nightclub scene or two. Sprinkle in that distinctive, dark, and sleek cinematography and overall aesthetic (plus an effortlessly charismatic lead assassin) and one has compiled all the elements necessary to craft a John Wick movie. Director Len Wiseman and company can be commended for making a film that does just about everything one would expect from a John Wick film that doesn’t feature John Wick as the lead character.
Ballerina looks, sounds, and feels like a John Wick movie. Wiseman’s film seamlessly adopts the unique aesthetic and tone of Stahleski’s series, which proves critical to making the new release feel like a worthy addition to the beloved franchise. As mentioned, almost all of the essential ingredients for a John Wick movie are here: innovative action, Continental world-building, EDM in the background, globe-trotting, and a sleek aesthetic. The sole element that leaves a bit to be desired is Ana de Armas as the headliner.
It feels harsh to critique de Armas for her work in Ballerina given that inevitable comparisons to Keanu Reeves as John Wick appear unfair. Nonetheless, de Armas’ Eve makes for a decidedly less interesting and charismatic protagonist than Reeves’ Baba Yaga. de Armas plays Eve with some discomfort, which, while fitting with the character’s status as an amateur assassin, makes line delivery unintentionally awkward at times. This is especially true when de Armas tries to lean into Reeves’ more solemn, peaceful, and subtly charming performance as Wick. If anything, it is interesting to posit what kind of film Ballerina would have been had it leaned more into Eve’s newfound standing as a full-fledged assassin, a stark contrast to the veteran killer John Wick. For someone new at her trade, Eve is exceptionally well-versed in fighting and killing – almost too much so. Even John Wick seemed to get beaten and bruised more than she does in this movie, meaning Eve often lacks the kind of imperfections and vulnerability that make Wick so entertaining and even funny at times.
While de Armas awkwardly navigates her performance as Eve during dialogue sequences, she makes up for it with an incredible physicality and energy. de Armas clearly put in immense work to ensure that she lives up to the high standard of action choreography in a John Wick film as she punches, kicks, shoots, and even flame-throws her way through over two hours of action. Not once does de Armas seem out of place or awkward when tackling the countless demanding action sequences.
And it is with these action sequences that Ballerina shines brightest. After overcoming a sluggish beginning, the film kicks into gear once Eve begins her pursuit for revenge. From then on, Wiseman packs the film with a continuous stream of clever fights. There are, of course, more traditional hand-to-hand combat and gun fights, all of which work well and harbor that John Wick ‘gun-fu’ flavor we’ve come to expect from the series. But there are also plenty of different kinds of fights, with scenes involving flamethrowers and pile of dinner plates standing out as highlights.
In a manner both humorous and fitting with the fictional world filled to the brim with assassins, de Armas’ Eve eventually fights an entire town in Ballerina, something John Wick himself never did. The bulk of the second half of the film sees Eve fight countless enemies in a variety of ways as she makes her way through a town of assassins toward the man who murdered her father, The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne). The success of these action sequences showcases a strength of Ballerina and the John Wick franchise more generally. Intricate choreography is important, but so is the staging of this choreography, the circumstances that surround it, and how the environment is incorporated. While Wiseman’s film features nothing that quite reaches the heights of the staircase sequence or the Arc de Triomphe set-piece, it does creatively incorporate its environments and settings to make the action that much more dynamic.
As is the case with the John Wick movies, the action in Ballerina can be quite funny as well. On paper, a man being hit in the face with a crowbar or having an axe thrown at his head don’t elicit laughs, but the way moments like this are depicted in Ballerina make it difficult to not crack a smile. Wiseman, much like Stahleski with the four John Wick films, has his finger firmly on the pulse of directing action that has you cringe with its violence and brutality, while letting out a chuckle once in a while when the pressure is alleviated and payoff is earned.
A rare misstep for Wiseman in his directing of action is a tendency to edit a bit too much and not keep the camera far away enough from the performers. The John Wick movies let the choreography do the talking, rather than rely on camerawork to make an action sequence engaging. Wiseman follows suit (for the most part), although he occasionally sets the camera a bit too close to the performers, which, in turn, makes it more difficult to appreciate every blow delivered.
The story encompassing the action is far from novel, and yet largely works due to its simplicity. Revenge stories are a dime-a-dozen and Ballerina doesn’t do anything to put a creative spin on this convention. However, the straightforward plot enables viewers to focus more heavily on the action, rather than be bogged down in exposition and plot. Where the story stands out more is through its world-building, primarily through a cult of assassins that add new layers to the John Wick world.
There are a variety of side players in Ballerina but none as compelling as John Wick himself. Keanu Reeves is able to return as everyone’s favorite pistol-wielding, suit-wearing, dog-loving assassin as Ballerina takes place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4. Reeves plays a surprisingly sizable role in the new film, far more than just a cameo. He intersects with Eve’s journey and is of great importance to the events that unfold in the final act. A testament to how well de Armas carries the action, Reeves’ inclusion doesn’t overshadow her excellent work, although it definitely had us clamoring for John Wick: Chapter 5 sometime soon.
As Ballerina comes to an end, audiences will be treated to another installment in the John Wick franchise, rather than something that takes the John Wick franchise in a different direction. Wiseman is given a difficult task in this regard: if he strays too much from the John Wick formula, suddenly his film no longer feels like a John Wick movie. However, Wiseman does little, if anything, that expands the franchise. Instead, he is very comfortable replicating Stahleski’s directing style and playing within the world already established, rather than shifting the boundaries of what that world can achieve.
VERDICT: 6.5/10
After over a decade of asserting itself as the pinnacle of the action genre, the John Wick franchise expands with Ballerina, a spin-off that is a worthy addition to the Keanu Reeves-led series. From innovative action to a sleek aesthetic to Continental world-building to club scenes and EDM, almost all of the critical ingredients that make a John Wick movie a John Wick movie are present. The exception is star Ana de Armas, who finds much greater success when embracing the physicality of her character Eve than she does awkwardly navigating dialogue scenes. Fans of the franchise seeking action in the vein of the four John Wick movies will be pleased as Ballerina features plenty of ‘gun-fu’ and other exciting combat, with sequences involving flamethrowers and dinner plates being particular highlights. Although director Len Wiseman occasionally missteps with a few too many edits and keeping the camera too close to the action, the filmmaker known for the Underworld series overwhelmingly excels in replicating the flavor of action made famous by Chad Stahleski and Keanu Reeves. The revenge story driving the action is refreshingly streamlined, although it lacks any semblance of novelty. The same can be said for the movie more broadly, which, while adhering closely to the formula of the John Wick franchise, does little (if anything) to take the series in a different direction. Nonetheless, bolstered by a surprisingly sizable role for Keanu Reeves, Ballerina excels as an installment of the best ongoing action franchise in featuring the kind of innovative, intricate, and morbidly humorous action only a John Wick movie could deliver.