The Incredible Action in ‘Ballerina' Masks How Dumb the Rest of It Is

Gizmodo

2 days ago

At a certain point while watching Ballerina, the latest film in the John Wick Universe, I did something I rarely do while watching a movie. Something I've vehemently fought against in the past. And yet in this case, it felt wholly necessary because the film posed a dichotomy the likes of which I haven't seen in a long, long time. That's how it happened that, while watching Ballerina, I did the unthinkable. I stopped watching with a critical eye, and I'm very glad I did.
I fully admit this is not an ideal situation, and normally I'd be very against this. On many occasions, after giving a negative review to something, someone will say to me, 'Oh, just turn your brain off and enjoy it.' To that, my response is always, 'Well, if it was actually good, I shouldn't have to.' Ballerina, however, is somehow both not good and also incredibly good at the same time. It's a mostly brainless, cold, cookie-cutter revenge movie that has so much unfathomable yet enjoyable action in it that the two are completely at odds. How can a movie this lame have such entertaining action? Why is such care being paid to these action sequences when the story and emotion are so surface? It's very odd, a little confusing, and why, without even knowing it happened, I did what I always say you shouldn't do. I shut my brain off.
As a professional critic, that's not the easiest thing to do. Out of habit, you watch almost everything with that eye. What's good about it? What's bad about it? What's working? What's not? Why do I like this? Why do I not? But Ballerina feels as if it was constructed from two completely different points of view. On one hand, it's rather clear that, despite some effort early on, the film is not particularly concerned with being narratively rewarding or complex. However, it is very interested in showcasing action and stunts unlike anything you've ever seen before, and in that aim, it is wildly successful.
Set mostly between the events of the second and third John Wick movies, Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve. Eve is an orphan who finds herself training in the way of the Ruska Roma, just like everyone's favorite dog-loving assassin, John Wick. The film does an admirable job of explaining how Eve found herself in this situation, complete with an origin story and more, but eventually that all takes a back seat. Eve wants to kill the people who killed her father. Even the fact she trained as a ballerina, the literal title of the movie, never really comes back. This is about revenge, plain and simple.
And so Eve goes from place to place looking for information that will lead her to a mysterious organization that killed her father. All of which is not in the slightest bit interesting. From the first second of the film, we can guess almost precisely what's going to happen at each stage because we've seen it a million times before. However, each of these places does allow director Len Wiseman and his team to showcase different environments, styles, and weapons that can be breathtaking.
There's a scene with a car in an alley that'll drop your jaw. An underground battle with grenades that's completely unbelievable but also hilariously awesome. And then there's the flamethrower fight that is so beyond excellent, you can't help but enjoy it simply because you are in awe of what you are watching. Those scenes are all done so well that, for a few minutes, you forget you don't care about anything else happening. You just want more of this dynamic, innovative action. Plus, de Armas is just a star. She's hugely charismatic and believable as this character who we hope we'll get to see more of.
Along the way, Eve runs into characters new and old in the Wick franchise, played by the likes of Anjelica Huston, Lance Reddick, Ian McShane, Gabriel Byrne, and Norman Reedus, to name a few. It's an impressive cast. Then, eventually, there's Wick himself, reprised by Keanu Reeves. It's great to see him again but his inclusion actually works against the rest of the film. Having such a strong force introduced into the film somehow makes both Wick and Eve feel less capable than everything else we've seen. We understand the impetus to put him in, even just for marketing, but the movie would've been better without him.
The movie would've been better with a lot of things, though. A more interesting story, better characters, deeper emotions, but that's not Ballerina. Ballerina is a brainless slog filled with action-packed wonder that's sure to wow audiences who go in looking for that and only that. Just know if you go in looking for anything else, there's not much there.
By the end of Ballerina, things had long gone past any chance of being particularly interesting or emotional. I knew I wasn't going to get that innovative, emotionally charged, deep lore or narrative some of the previous Wick films provided. And so, instead of getting angry at it, I switched gears and in this very rare, very specific case, it was the right call. Because while what I was watching was very forgettable in a traditional narrative sense, it's decidedly unforgettable in terms of pure, unfiltered action and entertainment. Ballerina is a pick-your-poison situation.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, which is the full official title, opens this week.