There’s a minimum of ballet in the new John Wick spinoff, Ballerina, and thank goodness for that. No, this movie is wall-to-wall action in true John Wick fashion. There’s even a lot more of Keanu Reeves’ Baba Yaga than expected. But this movie doesn’t belong to him, it is stolen with maximum ferocity by Ana de Armas, proving that her scene-stealing cameo in No Time to Die was no fluke. She is an action star through and through, and Ballerina is on par with the rest of the franchise.
Directed by Die Hard and Underworld veteran Len Wiseman, Ballerina is set between the events of John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4, a key point in establishing where some of the story’s key players are. At the center of the story is de Armas’ Eve Macaro. Hers is the classic revenge tale of a child orphaned when her father is killed by assassins, only to be taken in by another criminal organization, in this case the infamous Ruska Roma. Anjelia Huston returns as the Ruska Roma’s leader, the Director, who takes in Eve and trains her to be the best killer in the world. As she grows up, her need for vengeance only grows stronger, and she sets out to find the people responsible for destroying her family…against the Director’s wishes.
In some ways, Eve’s story is more compelling and believable than John Wick’s. The righteous fury she carries is legit and deeply personal. The simple, straight-forward narrative by writer Shay Hatten, a franchise staple, is free of the baggage of earlier films, while also leaning on the Wick lore to build the deadly universe that Eve exists in. For instance, we see the return of Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (the late Lance Reddick) of The Continental Hotel as Eve’s protectors. And, of course, we see John Wick himself in a role that is considerably more than a cameo. He takes an active role in Eve’s mission and even stands against her in an intense showdown under the falling snow.
Wiseman has always been a solid action director, giving is Live Free or Die Hard, Underworld, Total Recall, and more. But he’s never done a movie in the 87North style created by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch. He takes to the style quickly and delivers some amazing fights and absolutely wild, stunning fight choreography. It’s been said that Stahelski came in to help punch up the action and you can see it. The last 45 minutes of the movie is absolutely non-stop action as the chief villain, Gabriel Byrne’s cult leader The Chancellor, throws an entire town of killers at Eve. And when that’s not enough…well, here comes the Baba Yaga striding in for clean-up duty. There’s some nutty stuff that happens here, from flamethrowers to close-quarters knife battles to one dude getting blown up with a grenade behind a heavy steel door. It makes you wonder what they’ll have left for when (if?) John Wick 5 ever happens.
For action junkies, Ballerina will be your jam. As John Wick expands with more sequels, spinoffs, prequels, and TV shows, let’s hope Ana de Armas becomes a mainstay because she is locked in and on target.
Ballerina opens in theaters on June 6th via Lionsgate. You can also check out my interview with director Len Wiseman here.
