“Ballerina” Twirls to Action-Packed Mayhem
The more movies I see, the more convinced I become that no ballerina on the face of the planet is doing well emotionally. I hope I’m wrong. I hope there are some well-adjusted ballerinas who aren’t pulling their skin off by a hangnail, joining a ballet academy that’s actually a coven of witches, or becoming assassins. That last scenario sets the scene for the John Wick spin-off, aptly titled Ballerina. After John Wick unexpectedly took the action world by storm, it’s time for another sad assassin to seek some vengeance with a little more firepower in their bones.
When Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) was a child, she saw her father murdered in front of her. As an orphan, she was taken into the care of the Ruska Roma, a powerful criminal organization that trains children to be both assassins and ballerinas. Eve dreamed of dancing in the ballet, but not like this. When she’s old enough to take the final test to become an assassin, one of Eve’s first missions has her path cross with someone who bears the same branded mark on their wrist as the person who killed her father. Eve turns her back on the people who raised her in favor of going rogue to seek vengeance for the man who didn’t have a chance to see her all grown up.
Starz Entertainment, Lionsgate Films
As this is part of the John Wick world, some familiar faces come and go throughout the film. The Baba Yaga himself, Wick (Keanu Reeves), makes a few appearances and even trades blows with Eve. As much fun as it is for Reeves to be back on the big screen, de Armas has this film more than handled on her own. Enough of the world of John Wick is present without the man himself for this outing to be a fun return to the retro-yet-modern world the franchise has done such a good job of cultivating. Eve stops by two Continental Hotels, one of which still sees the late, great Lance Reddick behind the desk. Ballerina isn’t concerned with matching John Wick punch for punch, but enjoys getting to carve out a piece of this world for their own.
The main reason any of us show up to a John Wick movie is to see how the stunt team has outdone itself once again, and Ballerina delivers wholly on that promise. Where John’s fight feels more precise, there’s frustrated fury in Eve. Perhaps she’ll one day grow into the collected assassin John is, but now, she’s two months out of training and angry. She’s whip-smart and quick on her feet, but she’s also fighting with a frenzy that comes from the open wound of the loss of her family. Each fight sequence in Ballerina is a dizzying thrill, consistently one-upping itself before coming to a blazing conclusion. In what is a two-hour movie, Ballerina feels like most of the runtime is some sort of action sequence. It’s what the people want, and Ballerina is giving it to them.
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