‘Ballerina' movie review: Ana de Armas is spectacular in a middling ‘John Wick' spin-off

The Hindu

13-06-2025

Following her stints in action films like No Time to Die and The Gray Man, Ana de Armas gets to bring bullet-spewing, flame-throwing, grenade-exploding mayhem upon a gazillion men in Ballerina. Still, it seems her most formidable triumph comes from the fact that her character Eve Macarro refuses to be just a 'female John Wick.' Female assassins aren't really hot commodity for studios at the moment (must one blame Black Widow?), but Lionsgate persistently selling it as a John Wick film ('From the World of John Wick' prefixes the title) isn't unjustified either. The Babayaga casts a long, unmatchable shadow, which is why it's quite something to see Eve end up standing on her own feet. Could we say the same about the film? Unfortunately, Ballerina may not survive that face-off.
Ballerina begins by telling us who Eve is, and the film justifiably takes the necessary time for this crucial backstory. After Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), the vicious leader of the Cult, killed her father, a young Eve (Victoria Comte) trains to become a ballerina assassin with the Ruska Roma in New York, under the care of the Director (Anjelica Huston, reprising her character from John Wick: Chapter 3) and Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster), a mentor at the establishment. 12 years later, Eve is a killing machine who, as one would expect, crosses paths with the Cultists who killed her father and seeks vengeance, a quest that introduces us to an unknown world where it seems like Eve might be out of her depths.
From here, director Len Wiseman's film, written by John Wick 3 & 4 scribe Shay Hatten, goes full throttle as we flip through some grand action set pieces. Be it the fight sequence inside The Continental (where we are introduced to Norman Reedus' Daniel Pine, whose story further pushes Eve to seek vengeance) or the long climactic sequence in a snowy riverside village, there's seamless and innovative action choreography. However, what truly sells this action is how Armas' Eve is written.
Right at the beginning, Nogi teaches Eve to embrace her slight frame and the weaknesses she naturally carries. And so, Eve relies upon speed, spatial awareness, fluid body movements and impeccable accuracy. While she struggles to best her enemies initially, she finds her peak momentum during a spectacular fight at an ammunition store, and it's quite riveting to see an assassin who grows into herself. It also helps that Armas plays Eve with a perceptible wide-eyedness. A ballerina key toy becomes a symbol of how Eve looks at her life under the Ruska Roma. She yearns for freedom and to win over her fate, as she tells John Wick in a scene, but also to seek the truth of what happened to her father (interestingly, her Latin tattoo translates to 'Light amidst darkness,' while her father's tattoo denoted self-conquest).
'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina' (English)
Director: Len Wiseman
Cast: Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus
Runtime: 125 minutes
Storyline: A young assassin takes on a secret cult to avenge her father's death
The issue with Ballerina is that, in attempting to stay true to the world of John Wick while also carving an identity of its own, the film falls in line with the notion many confuse John Wick to be: a trigger-happy adrenaline junky's wet dream. John Wick is more; these were narratives propelled by the rage, grief and world-weariness behind Keanu Reeves' sulky, cold eyes. There's very little of that going for Ballerina, as Armas' character is thrust into action set pieces even before she can hold control of the frames.
While it is unfair to wish Eve fit like a glove in a world John took four films to get accustomed to, Ballerina's attempts at establishing the dynamics between the protagonist and the secondary characters, like Winston, the Director, or even the Chancellor, are hardly effective; all we get are some juvenile exchanges.
Surely, one cannot pit a two-hour film against a three-episode series when it comes to character development, but the thought of characters from The Continentaldoes arise, especially when you meet the present-day Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (the late Lance Reddick). Also, if that series moved away from Chad Stahelski's John Wick films, Ballerina attempts to be at the more pulpier extreme.
The simplicity of the plot isn't the question here — the John Wick films didn't work for their plot — but a lack of ambition. It's absurd how contrived and convenient the world of Ballerina seems for the newbie protagonist. She fights hundreds of Cultists with guns and flamethrowers, uses ice-skating shoes as shurikens, and throws grenades in close quarters (and somehow keeps her head), and while all that riveting action impresses you in the moment, the effect hardly lingers.
Instead, what you are left wondering is how John Wick's appearance fits into the larger scheme of things, since the film is set between the events of the third and fourth John Wick films. Seems like John somehow found time for this side quest even when he was declared excommunicado.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is currently running in theatres