More than two years after Keanu Reeves' once seemingly unkillable assassin last took to the big screen inJohn Wick: Chapter 4, the hit action franchise is back again with a new cinematic adventure: Len Wiseman’sFrom the World of John Wick: Ballerina. In the time since the last installment, the franchise released its first spinoff,Peacock’sThe Continental, and put several additional projects into development. As a fan of the original movies, I confess thatBallerinaexcited me the most, purely due to its very new heroine.
DoesBallerinalive up to the high standards set by the previous movies? Honestly, not really. But did I have a good time watching it? For sure.Ballerinais an interesting movie to discuss because, in some ways, you can really feel the ambition and excitement of the creative team. There are so many compelling ideas here; the problem is that, rather than sorting out the best ones, writer Shay Hatten ended up stuffing them all in.
There have been reports regarding reshoots andhow involvedJohn Wickdirector Chad Stahelski was. At this point, I can only evaluateBallerinaas it stands now, and while I suspect some elements won’t be for everyone, it certainly makes for a fascinating addition to theJohn Wickfranchise. Chronologically, it slots in betweenChapter 3 - ParabellumandChapter 4, though it’s probably best to avoid thinking about the specifics of that too hard.
Ballerina Is Ambitious - To A Fault
It Can’t Decide What Kind Of Movie To Be
As a lengthy prologue informs us, our new protagonist is Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), who joined the Ruska Roma clan as a young girl after her father (The Umbrella Academy’s David Castañeda) was killed by a tribe of assassins. Similarly to John Wick, Eve is driven by vengeance, though it admittedly takes quite a while forBallerinato get to that point. For a movie that’s only an hour and a half, too much time is spent on other elements of the plot before we get to the crux of the story — and what ultimately drives Eve.
Gorgeous visuals aside,Ballerinasuffers from a bit of an identity crisis.
Said mission, by the way, has very little to do with the main plot, but it does take place in a very cool club. TheJohn Wickfranchisehas always been one of the most stylish ones out there, andBallerinadoes meet that high bar through its numerous striking locations, from the Prague Continental to a snow-covered mountainous village that becomes the setting for the third act.
Each place provides ample opportunity for dynamic action sequences, and it becomes a real thrill watching how Eve adapts to each environment. Her resourcefulness as a fighter is a highlight, making for some inventive and exciting fight scenes. They gave me the same exhilarating feeling as the mainJohn Wickmovies, even if they occasionally lack the polish of those scenes.
Gorgeous visuals and quality action aside,Ballerinasuffers from a bit of an identity crisis. It can’t tell if it wants to be an origin story, a straightforward revenge tale in the vein of the firstJohn Wick, or a mythology-heavy franchise installment. Rather than picking a very specific lane, it attempts to hit all three beats to varying degrees of success. Sure, it’s cool to get a peek at the inner workings of the Ruska Roma and learn how Eve was raised, but the aforementioned first assignment is extraneous, and the lessons Eve learns are reinforced in a heavy-handed way throughout the rest of the runtime.
Ballerina Takes Some Big Swings In Expanding The John Wick Universe
It Mostly Works, Thanks To Ana De Armas
Eventually, Eve turns her sights on the group that targeted her father, which is led by The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne). For a long while, everyone treats this tribe as a horrifying cult that is not to be messed with. Everyone from The Director to a member of said group, Norman Reedus' underused Daniel Pine, refers to them in broadly ominous lines of dialogue that almost gets silly. If you have to keep telling us how awful these people are, are they not so awful that we can decide that for ourselves? At the very least, it sets high expectations for Eve’s inevitable collision with The Chancellor.
Eve’s introduction to their community injects some absurd hilarity into the movie, but the humor eventually runs the risk of becoming unintentionally ridiculous.Ballerinatakes a more over-the-top approach to things thantheJohn Wickmoviesdo, and while the spinoff deserves an identity of its own, it does somewhat put it at odds with what we’ve seen before. Even as it strains to be its own thing, it’s still got time for brief scenes with Winston and Charon (the late Lance Reddick, whose appearance is bittersweet, yet comforting).
As for Baba Yaga himself,Ballerinatrailershave already shown that Wick has a small role. His initial scene feels more forced than I’d hoped, but a later sequence supplies that desired rush of excitement at seeing Reeves in the role once again. It reminds us that, in this world, no one is better than him, but Eve is very much cut from the same cloth. De Armas solidifies her status as a bona fide action star, throwing herself into each fight scene with a scrappy energy that sets her apart from Wick. Above all else, I loved getting the chance to spend time with this character.
There are numerous otherJohn Wickprojects in development, includinga spinoff centered on Donnie Yen’s Caine, an animated prequel, and a fifth movie with Reeves' Wick.Ballerinaproves that this is still a rich world with numerous storytelling avenues. I only worry that, if the new projects aren’t well-thought-out, this carefully constructed universe will begin to fall apart. There are plot holes here that threaten to grow wider if a strong timeline and boundaries aren’t established.
Nevertheless, we’ll likely see more of Eve in the future, asBallerinaleaves ample room for a sequel and there’s little question that de Armas is up to the task of leading it. Her first outing is largely a rush of violent, thrilling action, entertainingly served up for the big screen, but it isn’t without its problems. I just hope that if this killer gets to dance again, she’s better served by a more streamlined narrative.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerinaarrives in theaters Friday, June 6.
