Ballerina movie review: Ana de Armas revives John Wick franchise, 4/5 stars
From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina (M18)
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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Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Ballerina movie review: Ana de Armas revives John Wick franchise, 4/5 stars
From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina (M18) 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. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Straits Times
Ana de Armas interview: Ballerina, John Wick spinoff and screaming for action scenes
Actress Ana de Armas had to scream before she could kill in John Wick movie spin-off Ballerina SINGAPORE – Actress Ana de Armas was making all the right moves when it came to the fight scenes in the movie From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina, but something was missing. 'I would do the stunts, but it felt too choreographed. The stunt team said, 'Come on, you have to start getting into character, to feel her rage and passion,'' she tells The Straits Times in a Zoom interview. The team offered a suggestion: screaming. 'They taught me how to scream myself ready. We screamed at one another . It became my way to get in the right mindset. The energy would wake me up in the morning, or at 3am, when we were shooting at night. I would just start jumping up and down and screaming, to get the blood flowing,' says de Armas, 37. Once the crew members heard her screams, they readied the cameras. The vocal exercise worked. Viewers will see the Cuban-Spanish star punching, shooting and throwing grenades in From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina, which opens in Singapore cinemas on June 5. She is no stranger to action movies, having appeared in the Netflix thriller The Gray Man (2022) and the James Bond film No Time To Die (2021). As its full title suggests, Ballerina is set in the assassin-filled fantasy universe made popular through the John Wick films (2014 to 2023). This is the first movie spin- off after four films in the franchise, with a story set in the period between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023). De Armas plays Eve Macarro, daughter of Javier (David Castaneda), a hitman murdered by a highly secretive cult led by the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne). Winston (Ian McShane), manager of the Continental Hotel – a haven for hired killers – takes the child (Victoria Comte, who plays the younger version of the character) under his wing. He sends her to the Ruska Roma, a ballet academy run by the Director (Anjelica Huston). The Director's aim: to mould students into adults who are as good at killing as they are in dance. Years later, Eve sets out on a mission of vengeance. Ana de Armas as Eve in Ballerina. PHOTO: MURRAY CLOSE As the lead character in Ballerina, de Armas says there were two duties on her shoulders: to be strong enough to perform the big fight scenes and achieve that strength safely. 'Everything I've done before has been a step towards getting to this place. With each movie, the complexity of the action increased. 'But the challenge in Ballerina had no comparison with anything I've done before. The training was three to four months, every day, many hours a day – combat training, handling weapons. There was a level of commitment and discipline I didn't know before. All of a sudden, I was training like an athlete,' she says. But she had to listen to her body and learn to not push it too far. She would not only be harming herself, but she would also be putting everyone else's job at risk. 'I had to take care of my body – nutrition, diet, self-care, therapy, chiropractors, all kinds of people taking care of my body. Because if I get injured or something happens, the movie stops for a week or two and we can't afford that. I had to be so committed to the project and to what I had to do to be able to provide for the whole crew,' she says. Ana de Armas as Eve and Keanu Reeves as John Wick in Ballerina. PHOTO: LIONSGATE Keanu Reeves, as the gifted titular assassin John Wick, appears in Ballerina in a pivotal role. It is not de Armas' first collaboration with the 60-year-old Canadian actor. Her career began in Spain and Cuba, before she moved to Hollywood in her mid-20s. One of her first English-speaking roles was in the psychosexual thriller Knock Knock (2015), playing one of two stranded women who terrorise Reeves' character in his own home. She was then not yet fluent in English and had memorised the dialogue phonetically. She would, however, be fluent by the time she was cast in films like science-fiction epic Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and mystery thriller Knives Out (2019), and took the title role in the Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde (2022), for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. It felt good to be reunited with Reeves on Ballerina 10 years later, de Armas says. This time, however, she was not only more mature, but her grasp of English also helped her to understand him better, allowing him to be more relaxed and natural as an actor, she says. Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas at the From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina global premiere in London on May 22. PHOTO: REUTERS 'I loved working with Keanu on Ballerina. I have so much respect and admiration for him as a person and actor. I was already a big fan of the John Wick movies. Being back on set with him, I could tell he was more comfortable in Ballerina than he was in Knock Knock. It was a beautiful full circle for both of us to reconnect, because so much has changed in our lives since then,' she says. American actor Norman Reedus, speaking to ST in a separate online interview, talked about his role as Daniel Pine, the estranged son of the Chancellor. Norman Reedus as Daniel Pine in Ballerina. PHOTO: LARRY D. HORRICKS FOR LIONSGATE 'Daniel's child became a target because of who his family is. Now, he's willing to fight everyone – not just his father, but also endless levels of assassins – to protect his child's innocence. 'When Eve arrives, he's suspicious at first. But since she's not shooting, he realises she might be able to help. Eve becomes an angel, an unexpected salvation when he's cornered and desperate to protect his child,' says Reedus, 56. Reedus got his breakthrough playing survivor-protagonist Daryl Dixon on 11 seasons of zombie horror series The Walking Dead (2010 to 2022). He is in two spin-off projects: Ballerina and the series The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023 to present). Reedus and Reeves are motorcycle enthusiasts who were out riding in Los Angeles when they first met by accident at a traffic light, as Reedus recounted on talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2024, without specifying the year. They quickly bonded over their shared love of two-wheelers, with Reeves eventually appearing as a guest on the sixth season of the Reedus-hosted motorcycle docuseries Ride With Norman Reedus (2016 to present). He calls Reeves an 'honest person and a good hero'. In real life, the Hollywood superstar is just like the type of hero he tends to portray on screen – the one who never calls attention to himself and wins through quiet determination, says Reedus. Reeves is 'just a guy getting through life... he's doing the work and you root for him. I think people naturally root for Keanu in real life because he's that guy', adds Reedus. American director Len Wiseman, who makes his John Wick debut with Ballerina, received some advice about the franchise from Reeves. Ana de Armas as Eve and director Len Wiseman behind the scenes in Ballerina. PHOTO: LARRY D. HORRICKS FOR LIONSGATE The 52-year-old is best known for his work on the Kate Beckinsale-headlined vampire-werewolf action horror film franchise Underworld (2003 to 2016) and the remake of science-fiction thriller Total Recall (2012). Speaking to ST while seated next to de Armas, he remembers asking Reeves a question. 'I was putting together a shot and asked Keanu, 'Would it be weird if you looked down into this lens for a portion of the dialogue?'' says Wiseman. The actor then offered the director the mantra that has kept the John Wick enterprise going since 2014. 'He said, 'If it's cool, it's not weird.'' From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina opens in Singapore cinemas on June 5. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Straits Times
Singapore Botanic Gardens' orchid display awarded gold medal at Chelsea Flower Show
The gold medal-winning display, titled 'From Hong Kong to Australia – The Orchids of Asia & The Pacific'. PHOTO: NPARKS/FACEBOOK SINGAPORE - The Singapore Botanic Gardens' return to a prestigious flower show in England has been marked by a sweet surprise - a top medal for its floral display. The Gardens' participation in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London - from May 20 to May 24 - marked the first time in nearly 70 years it returned to the event, said the National Parks Board (NParks) on May 21. 'We are delighted to share that our display 'From Hong Kong to Australia – The Orchids of Asia & The Pacific', which includes a showcase of our native orchids, has been awarded a gold medal in the Great Pavilion!,' NParks said in a Facebook post. This international exhibition includes participants from Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, added NParks. Created by the Gardens' Living Collections team, the Gardens' display, titled 'Singapore's Native Orchids: Conservation and Heritage', features a mix of native orchids from the Gardens' ex situ collection, including Callostylis pulchella, Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi and Arachnis hookeriana. NParks said the epiphytic orchids are arranged on stumps and branches, mirroring their natural growth in the wild. The first Singapore Botanic Gardens delegation to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was in 1957 and was led by Mr Richard Eric Holttum, then-Director of the Gardens who initiated the Gardens' orchid hybridisation programme in 1928. The award comes as the Gardens' celebrates the 10th year since its inscription as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2025 – the only tropical botanical garden to make the list. It is also the 150th anniversary of the Singapore Herbarium and the Gardens' Library of Botany and Horticulture, the first of their kind in Malaya at the time of their launch in 1875. The milestones also coincide with the country's diamond jubilee, or SG60. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
