Over the last decade, the John Wick franchise has evolved from a simple revenge film that almost went direct-to-video to arguably the premier action franchise of the 21st century, and that’s based off of two main elements: the gun-toting action that has spawned dozens of imitators in its wake, but also the well-crafted lore the franchise has continued to build with each installment.
Ballerina, the second John Wick spin-off following the Continental miniseries, attempts to expand on that lore by introducing a new protagonist and putting a spotlight on a memorable group from a previous film. However, while the film as a whole is a lot of fun, the balance between those two aforementioned elements leaned decidedly in one direction.
Taking place between the events of John Wick: Chapters 3 and 4, Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro. As a little girl, Eve witnesses her father get killed by The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), the leader of a violent cult they had barely escaped years prior, and to whom she had previously lost her mother and sister. Eve is taken under the wing of Continental Hotel owner Winston (Ian McShane), who sends Eve to live and train as a ballerina in the Ruska Roma, the Russian faction of assassins first seen in Chapter 3.
Eve evolves into a full-fledged assassin in her own right, and after completing a mission, comes across the cult yet again. Going against the strict orders of the Director (Angelica Huston) to avoid conflict with them, Eve sets out on a one-woman warpath for revenge.
Ballerina’s story is easily its weakest aspect. Like the original John Wick, it’s about seeing Eve’s sole chance at normal humanity being stripped away before sending her deep into the underworld she inhabits. But the refreshing part about Wick’s world-building in the other films was how it delivered enough information about this underworld to understand without over-explaining. When we see the Ruska Roma in Chapter 3, all we know is that John grew up under them and that even the ballerinas, just like every character in the Wick universe, are just as skilled in death-dealing as everyone else.
Our imaginations were able to fill in the gaps, and helped build Wick as this mythical figure. When it comes to Ballerina, the additions to world-building are frankly pretty boring. It was nice to see a few familiar faces again, like McShane, Huston, and the late Lance Reddick, making his final on-screen appearance. But the ballerinas’ training, which takes up a significant chunk of the first act, feels uninspired.
“Ballerina looks great, the franchise’s requisite nightclub shootout in the second act boasts expectedly solid choreography…”
There are also moments where I was concerned that the film was going to take the even more generic route of placing heavy focus on the “stone-cold killer becomes surrogate parent for innocent child” trope, when Eve sparks an alliance with fellow assassin Daniel Pines (Norman Reedus) and his young daughter Ella (Ava McCarthy). Thankfully, the film practically brushes that theme aside for the most part.
That being said, Ballerina drastically improves in its later acts. For months, there were rumours that series director Chad Stahelski directed most of the film’s reshoots, to the point of claiming he ghost-directed the entire second half of the movie. Stahelski has downplayed his level of involvement, but it’s still very easy to tell when he takes over. That’s not to say any of Len Wiseman’s action beforehand is bad.
Ballerina looks great, the franchise’s requisite nightclub shootout in the second act boasts expectedly solid choreography, and makes great use of de Armas’ physicality as she overcomes her small stature with brutal resourcefulness. However, the moment Eve travels to the cult’s village in Europe, it becomes an all-out gauntlet, and both de Armas and the film get to really cut loose.
The fight scenes start using noticeably longer takes. The use of weaponry gets even more creative, particularly a kill with a grenade belt that is one of the most brutal in the entire series. There are even great bits of Looney Tunes-esque physical comedy, like a ridiculous plate-smashing brawl in the middle of a gunfight. Also, there’s a flamethrower duel. It’s as undeniably cool as it sounds. That second half only serves to highlight de Armas’ committed physical performance and Stahelski’s inimitable touch when it comes to action.
Oddly enough, the only major downside of that second half is…well, John Wick himself. The mythical “Baba Yaga” makes a short appearance in the beginning in an extended version of the Chapter 3 scene when he meets with the Ruska Roma, but he resurfaces in an extended capacity during the third act, and it feels pretty unnecessary. Reeves is still great, but his appearance feels less like the story necessitated his appearance and more like a studio-mandated decision. Also, considering how Chapter 3 ends and Chapter 4 begins, it was more distracting trying to figure out when he would even have time for an extended detour to begin with.
Overall, Ballerina doesn’t approach the impossibly high standards set by its predecessors, but the action in that second half is so good that it earns a seat at the high table. Ana de Armas shows that she can be a great action star, and where I feel John’s story was definitely closed after Chapter 4 (despite John Wick: Chapter 5 being currently in development), Ballerina ends on a note that I wouldn’t be against seeing more from Eve in the future.
