‘Ballerina’ Review

In the movies, a ballet school is never just a ballet school. At its most pedestrian, these academies have simply served as a basis for psychotic episodes brought on by the precision, ambition and seclusion demanded of their students; but they have also functioned as covens of witches and, perhaps most frequently, schools of super assassins. ‘Ballerina’ carries on the tradition, embedding this ballet and assassin school within the John Wick universe, delivering thrilling action even while the film is burdened by cliched storytelling tropes and burdensome nods to the lore of its extended world.

‘Ballerina’ follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), orphaned as a young girl when a team of killers broke into her home and murdered her father in front of her. She is brought to the Director (Anjelica Huston), the leader of an organization of ballerina assassins, who agrees to take her in as a student to honor her mysterious parents. As Eve grows up, and goes professional, she fixates on vengeance, hunting down the men responsible for her father’s death despite all warnings to avoid this group.

This villainous group she seeks is spoken about as the deadliest threat imaginable, an existential threat to the entire super assassin operating model and yet it’s never made quite clear why they are so terrifying. In a world where everybody is a highly trained killer, what makes this group stand apart? They are referred to as a cult at times, but if they are it’s not quite clear what they believe in or why they work together. Rather than establishing this group as more of a menace, you just have to take every character at their word that these are not villains to be taken lightly.

For the most part, ‘Ballerina’ follows the John Wick stylebook exactly: it looks like a John Wick film, sounds like a John Wick film, and the action scenes have the choreography and intensity of a John Wick film. If it was only the style that enmeshed ‘Ballerina’ into the John Wick universe, it may have been a better film, but unfortunately ‘Ballerina’ leans on fan service in such a heavy handed way that belies a lack of faith in the appeal of its own original story and characters. This over-reliance on lore throws off the pacing, and makes what should ultimately be a tight ninety minute action movie into a two hour plus expansion pack instead.

The pacing and rhythm feels off throughout, as if director Lew Wiseman didn’t quite know how to handle moments when people aren’t being punched in the face. There are a few attempts at humor, but the editing undermines any chance of a successful punchline. The filmmakers knew the main appeal was the action sequences, and committed all of their creative energy into making those scenes as entertaining as possible.

The good news is that, for the most part, the action scenes deliver. ‘Ballerina’ hits its peak in the second act, when three distinct but exciting action sequences are delivered one after another, with no dramatic pauses in between. One scene in particular, in which Eve fights her way through an ambush at an illicit armory stands as the highlight, with de Armas working through a funhouse crafted for maximum action mayhem. These inventive fight scenes in the middle of the movie, however, make the climactic battle come off as a bit of a disappointment. In the third act, the action goes bigger, definitely, but not necessarily better. There is fire and explosions galore, but the main character lacks the creativity of taking everyday items and using them as weapons to defy overwhelming odds. These fights are still entertaining, but they feel like a creative step down from the thrills of the second act.

When Ana de Armas appears in ‘No Time to Die’, the final Daniel Craig James Bond movie, she exhibits a skill with fight choreography without sacrificing her natural humor and charm. Unfortunately in ‘Ballerina’, de Armas is devoid of levity, portraying instead the type of brooding, self serious action hero the franchise has long relied on. This is not necessarily a bad performance, but it’s a missed opportunity to weaponize de Armas’s natural comedy skills in a way that could have helped distinguish this film from the rest of the series while still delivering the expected action highlights.

Ultimately, if you enjoy the John Wick franchise you will assuredly enjoy this film. It delivers committed action scenes and fan service aplenty to satisfy even the most casual John Wick fans, even if the movie unfortunately never stands out as a particularly special action film in its own right.

Ballerina
Rated R for strong/bloody violence throughout, and language.
Running Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes

Director Len Wiseman
Writers Shay Hatten
Stars Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves
Rating R
Running Time 125 Minutes
Genres Action, Thriller