Ballerina: Film Review
Every blockbuster movie franchise needs to create its own universe these days so naturally, Lionsgate is expanding the John Wick franchise with the spin-off Ballerina.
Set during and after the events of the third John Wick, Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a ballerina-turned-assassin raised within the Ruska Roma crime syndicate. When she crosses paths with the cult members who killed her father, she goes against her boss, The Director (Angelica Huston), and strikes out on her own to exact revenge on the cult leader, The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne).
One thing is for sure: De Armas is a bona fide action star. She teased her talent for action in the James Bond movie No Time to Die and now she gets to really show off her range of skills, from shooting and gun assembly to speedy hand-to-hand combat. She really kicks ass!
There are a few great action sequences in here, particularly a section involving grenades and another featuring kitchen knives, plates and a meat freezer. These ones – that all appear towards the end – are inventive, exciting and funny. But there are other earlier ones that feel generic and edited within an inch of their life. It is here that you can tell the film was directed by Len Wiseman instead of franchise regular Chad Stahelski.
The writing is poor and exposition-heavy and stinks of significant rewrites. It is pretty slow, dull and self-serious in the first half but it picks up in the final act, where it actually achieves the John Wick tone and some light-hearted moments. It’s a shame that Eve is given no personality at all beyond her quest for revenge. I know John (Keanu Reeves) doesn’t have a ton of characterisation but he definitely has more than this.
Speaking of John, I understand the reasoning behind his appearance in the film and I love him as this character but I didn’t think it was necessary. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it was detrimental to Eve and the investment in her character. His appearance draws attention to how little we care about Eve, how she pales in comparison to him and how little faith the studio has in this film standing on its own. Seeing familiar characters like The Director, Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (the late Lance Reddick) would have been enough.
As far as other new characters go, Byrne is lumbered with the majority of the iffy lines and exposition and Norman Reedus is in the movie significantly less than you’d expect, given his presence on the publicity trail.
De Armas is a brilliant action star, so it’s a shame her talents are wasted on this generic movie.
In cinemas from Friday 6th June