Ballerina movie review: Ana de Armas revives John Wick franchise, 4/5 stars
125 minutes, opens on June 5
★★★★☆
The story: In the John Wick world of shadowy syndicates and the assassins who work for them, young Eve's father (David Castaneda) is murdered by an unknown clan. Winston (Ian McShane), manager of the haven for hired killers, the Continental Hotel, takes the girl under his wing. He sends her to Ruska Roma, an organisation that runs a ballet school training students to be graceful as they are deadly. Under the eye of the Director (Anjelica Huston), Eve (played by Ana de Armas as an adult) counts down the days till she can exact vengeance on the men who slayed her dad.
The first spin-off from the Keanu Reeves-headlined John Wick franchise (2014 to 2023) possesses all the signature elements – the gun-fu, intense violence and weapons porn. It also has something that was lacking in the series' recent films: a story with a beginning, middle and end.
At the centre of this origin story, set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), is Cuban-Spanish actress de Armas, who puts in a formidable performance as the seething agent of chaos. She is fiercely present, physically and emotionally. As a protagonist, Eve's compelling fury is much more relatable than Wick's ice-cold stoicism, which has been present since Reeves played the hired gun in the first film .
The John Wick universe is inspired by – or some would say, a direct copy of – martial arts movies set in a feudal China or Japan pockmarked by feisty clans jostling for control.
Ballerina would be the classic Hong Kong tale of an orphan raised in a Shaolin temple and trained to be invincible, so he or she might settle scores in a climactic showdown.
There is a compelling simplicity to the orphaned avenger set-up that American director Len Wiseman (the Underworld film franchise, 2003 to 2016; Total Recall, 2012) exploits to the fullest. There is little of the overwrought lore that dragged down the last two John Wick movies – the stuff about the High Table and its elaborate rules of order is thankfully absent. The inclusion of Ruska Roma and the Continental Hotel is kept to a minimum and feels necessary to the story.
To be fair, Wiseman has an easier job than four-time John Wick director Chad Stahelski, who has had to build a fantasy world over the past decade. By the fourth film, it was clear fatigue had set in, with the plot contrivances that move Wick from one fight to another becoming more strained and bloated.
Ballerina does not squander its new story and protagonist on weak action. Its fights are stunningly choreographed, with one highlight being a battle set in Prague that features hand grenades as weapons. That segment offers maximum bang for the buck.
This fresh start is a good move, one that bodes well for the future of the franchise as it heads into a fifth John Wick movie and a number of sequels and prequels – animated and live-action.
Hot take: With new face de Armas, the John Wick franchise is revitalised with stunning action that feels fresh, not formulaic.
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