In 2014, they killed John Wick’s dog. We’ve been dealing with the consequences ever since. Not only did “John Wick” spawn a 10-year, billion-dollar multimedia empire, but it arguably kicked off a new era for mainstream action cinema. Suddenly, the days of gratuitous shaky-cam and taking fifteen cuts to jump a fence were things of the past. Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, drawing from their stunt background, Hong Kong action cinema, and films like “The Raid: Redemption,” reestablished fight choreography as an art form, using the camera to highlight the action rather than obscure it. Pair all of that up with the uniquely spaced-out charisma of Keanu Reeves as the title character, and you’ve got yourself a hell of a franchise—one that casts a long shadow. Keanu is 6’1”, after all.
However, it felt like the cards were stacked against “Ballerina” from the start. After all, this female-led franchise interquel-spinoff film—retrofitted into the “John Wick” universe from a spec script—made headlines when The Wrap reported it had undergone significant reshoots across multiple months. Rumors were that test screenings went terribly, and “Ballerina” needed a total overhaul under Chad Stahelski, who took over for credited director Len Wiseman. Combined with a late review embargo, a total flop felt inevitable. It just had to be, right?
Meet Eve
I’m going to (metaphorically) hold your hand while I tell you this: “Ballerina” not only succeeds as an entry in the larger “John Wick” franchise, but is a stylish, entertaining, and surprisingly self-contained action thriller in its own right.
Set between the third and fourth “John Wick” films, “Ballerina” hands the reins to Ana de Armas as Eve. As a girl, Eve witnessed her father’s murder at the hands of a mysterious assassin cult. Rescued from the ashes by Winston (Ian McShane) and absorbed into the Ruska Roma under the icy supervision of The Director (Anjelica Huston), Eve spends the next 12 years training for retribution (and ballet). Now a fully-formed killer, Eve’s mission is clear: hunt down the people who destroyed her family and kill them all. It’s a classic revenge story dressed up in the “John Wick” universe’s bespoke assassins, rigid etiquette, and guns. Lots of guns.
Eve is never positioned as the female John Wick—and wisely so. John Wick is mythical and almost unknowable; Eve is grounded and sympathetic. Her pain is understandable, her goals are clear, and there is an undercurrent of desperation to her that sets her apart from Wick. Ana de Armas plays Eve with steely focus and simmering rage. She’s scrappy, determined, ferocious, and compassionate in equal measure. Eve’s desperation comes through in every moment, but especially during the action scenes, where De Armas’s ferocious performance gives Eve depth even when the script can’t. She proved her action chops in 2021’s “No Time To Die,” but “Ballerina” shows she can not only do the job, but carry her own film.
John Wick—Too Big to Fail?
As for the script, it’s here to get us where we need to go. The first 45 minutes of “Ballerina” mostly exist to tee up the breakneck action that follows. Stahelski may have polished those action scenes, but the seams in the narrative still show. You can feel the film straining to get the exposition out of the way so it can get to the fireworks. It flirts with some deeper themes—grief, revenge, female agency in a violent world—but rarely goes beyond surface level. It helps that the film moves fast. Exposition scenes are often interrupted by sudden bursts of violence, wisely cutting through the noise before boredom sets in.
So what do people like about these movies again? Oh yeah, the action! Stahelski’s fingerprints are all over these fight scenes, and that’s a good thing. We’re not trying to top the maximalism of “John Wick Chapter 4.” Instead, “Ballerina’s” fights are smaller, scrappier, more inventive. Eve is taught early on to “fight like a girl,” overcoming disadvantages in strength or size by any means necessary. Smashing plates, swinging ice skates like bladed nunchucks, escaping ambushes with nothing but a box of grenades—whatever works. The combination of desperation and precision makes each throwdown feel chaotic and calculated. The best fights in “Ballerina” easily stand toe-to-toe with the main series.
Now, that’s not to say that John Wick is absent. As the marketing has already spoiled, Mr. Boogeyman turns up in a brief but substantial role, along with a few other familiar faces and locales. We’ve got a franchise to develop, after all! To its credit, “Ballerina” threads the needle between shared-universe storytelling and standalone narrative. The no-frills revenge narrative slides nicely into the established world of “John Wick,” complete with the same slick, neon-hued stylization as the mainline films. Lance Reddick’s final on-screen appearance as Charon is especially welcome.
A Win Against Insurmountable Odds
By far, the worst part of the shared universe is the promotional title “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.” Yuck.
Title aside, “Ballerina” is a win against seemingly insurmountable odds. The plot is basic and the script misses chances to go deeper, but there is still plenty to enjoy for anyone drawn to the Wick-verse or just hungry for well-crafted action. It’s easy to see future installments starring this character.
As for whether this franchise can survive without its core players? That remains to be seen—they’re all still here, after all. But as far as punts go, this is about as entertaining as it gets.
