When the “John Wick” franchise started off with a bang back in 2014, its likely few could have predicted that just over a decade later we would have four films in the main series, a spin-off television show, multiple video games and comic books, and now a spin-off film. While the quality of each project has waxed and waned, the films have been without a doubt the best of the series, and now Ana de Armas (“Knives Out,” “Blade Runner 2049”) is here to stake her claim on the franchise with the first spin-off film for the franchise, “Ballerina.”
Set between the events of “John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum” and “John Wick: Chapter 4,” the film follows Eve Macarro, played by de Armas, as she trains to become a member of the Ruska Roma, a group of women trained in both ballet and assassination techniques run by the Director, played by Anjelica Huston (“The Addams Family (1991),” “The Royal Tenenbaums”). After becoming a Kikimora, a specialized assassin trained to protect high value targets, she is attacked by a man with a mysterious scar, causing her to embark on a quest to take down the Chancellor, played by Gabriel Byrne (“The Usual Suspects,” “In Treatment”), with the help of Winston Scott, played by Ian McShane (“American Gods,” “Deadwood”), Charon, played by Lance Reddick (“The Wire,” “White House Down”), and John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves (“The Matrix,” “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”).
At this point, virtually any film under the 87North banner is expected to deliver a specific flavor of high-stakes, stunt heavy action spectacle. The production company, co-founded by “John Wick” co-creator and lifelong stuntman David Leitch, has, across the board, infused their particular set of stunt forward techniques into each project, and the same is true for “Ballerina.” Arguably more than any of their other non-“Wick” projects, “Ballerina” manages to nail the exact kind of feeling inspired by Reeves’s one-man wrecking crew tales. It isn’t just because it’s set in the same world, but it has the same creativity in its construction. de Armas is a complete powerhouse, and you’ll likely never be satisfied with a standard grenade explosion again.
Rather than just having good action, director Len Wiseman (“Underworld (2003),” “Live Free or Die Hard”) and writer Shay Hatten (“Army of the Dead,” “John Wick: Chapter 4”) emphasize throughout the film that Eve is not nearly as experienced as some of the people she’s going up against. While this series is no stranger to beating its protagonists up, “Ballerina” takes ample time to show Eve’s evolution into her final form. It makes for a more cathartic and satisfying action adventure. This also helps given that the rest of the film isn’t up to the rest of the series’ inventiveness with its plot.
While it still follows the same rules and world-building that the other “Wick” films do, the actual journey Eve goes on and the overall plot are far more generic than this series has previously been. It’s closer to the pulpy B-movies that have populated the recent careers of the likes of Bruce Willis or Liam Neeson with some “Wick” world-building elements sprinkled in. A small appearance from Norman Reedus (“The Boondock Saints,” “The Walking Dead”) does liven things up a bit, but not enough to save the plot from being little more than a cheesy excuse for the action. Things are their worst at the start, but after the first fifteen minutes the film does get out of its own way and starts to have some fun. Most bizarrely though, the film’s connections to the other “Wick” films start simply enough, but snowballs into absurdity by the end. It cheapens the film by featuring cameos with characters who have no possible stakes or danger.
At one point in “Ballerina,” as a character is beaten mercilessly, a television in the background quickly flips channels between a Three Stooges short, and a few Buster Keaton scenes, showcasing some of the most famous stunt performers who undeniably laid the groundwork for people like Leitch, Derek Kolstad, and other modern action stunt-heavy films. It’s a nice wink and shows that this series, for whatever happens with the story, will always prioritize impressive stunt work over everything else. de Armas anchors what is an otherwise fun if serviceable plot backed up by the exact kind of creative, escalating action that we’ve come to expect from these films. Once it gets out of its own way, “Ballerina” really can dance a flashy dance. 3.5/5
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