The world of John Wick (the Wickverse, if you will) expands beyond its titular character with Ballerina. After being stuck in development hell for what felt like a decade, it has finally arrived to introduce us to Eve (Ana de Armas), a Ruska Roma assassin seeking revenge for the death of her father.
Despite being a John Wick spinoff, it wouldn’t have been fair on this film to expect something of that calibre and style. It has a new director and focuses on a unique protagonist with different strengths to Wick, so it makes sense that this film would try to be its own thing. For the most part it’s successful in bringing a new feel to the franchise, but also it’s more integrated with the core films’ chronology than anticipated. It’s no secret that Keanu Reeves is in the movie, but the extent to which he is in it shocked me. He doesn’t just have a walk-on cameo role – the man is a core part of the story and contributes to some of the most memorable scenes. Plus he’s not the only franchise staple who has a presence – Ian McShane (Winston) and more Wickverse alums show up to greater strengthen that connection. Some might say that this makes the universe feel smaller, but I say it does nothing but benefit this film and the story being told. It adds validity to the key moments and makes it feel like it’s more than just a random series of events happening somewhere outside of the Continental.
Now for the film’s narrative and pacing – this is yet another case of the tale of two halves. One half of the film is very clunky and choppy as it bounces from location to location, setting up our protagonist and following her quest for revenge. The other half is one long, hyper-focused action sequence that’s light on narrative but delivers awesome action to keep you locked in. Let’s start with the first half – in around an hour of film, Ballerina commits itself to giving Eve a backstory, setting up her desire for revenge and following her moral dilemma as she pursues opportunities for revenge. A decent amount of time passes and there’s a lot of jumping between locations with introductions to new faces along the way. The choppy nature of the first two acts made it hard to get into the story – it moves fast between points but at the same time feels slow in getting to its endgame. The character dynamic between Eve and the Director (Anjelica Huston) isn’t as engaging as they would’ve wanted it to be, and there’s an entire subplot concerning Norman Reedus‘ Daniel Pine that adds nothing of value to the story. His character is set up as if he’s going to be a main player, but then he’s cast aside and never relevant again. Overall, the first half felt more like a poor imitation than a true Wickverse project.
Then we get to the second half – a sequence that is entirely set in one location with no large gaps in time and a focus on delivering balls-to-the-wall action. Before I get into the good – there is one character arc in this second half concerning Catalina Sandino Moreno’s Lena that is random, awfully executed and completely wasted. Her arc comes completely out of nowhere and it’s bafflingly bad that it was handled this way and kept in the film. It’s the one blight on what is an exceptional second half. Outside of that, everything that goes down in the town during the climax is awesome. The film really finds its stride in this final hour, focusing entirely on producing thrilling action that makes the most of Eve’s fighting style and showcases her ferocity. It’s relentless and exhausting in the best way possible and it was clear from my cinema experience, that this is the sequence where the audience really started invested in the film. It gets closer to the essence of John Wick and what people love of this franchise while not losing the focus of its simple revenge-based story.
This leads us into talking about the action – the reason people turn up for this franchise. As mentioned, the action in the second half is a delight – so many fighting styles are highlighted and Eve churns through a variety of weapons we’ve not seen in any other JW film. As much as the first half is a bit chaotic with its narrative, the occasional action sequence is still a blast to watch (sometimes literally). Eve is, as expected, not as physically capable as John Wick, so there’s a bit more of an even playing field when going up against multiple enemies. This adds a little more tension and creates intrigue in how she’s going to get out of tight situations, making for a fun viewing experience. The fight choreography is brutal, bloody and gritty in a way that feels new and contrasts Wick’s style of fighting in an entertaining way.
I have to say that it’s very clear from the cinematography to the action that Chad Stahelski isn’t involved in this film. Len Wiseman has put together a great entry in the franchise backed by returning writer Shay Hatten, but the little missing elements are noticeable. It lacks that artistic edge in its cinematography and that finesse with its action choreography that the main Wick films did so well. Don’t get me wrong, it does a great job of feeling like a Wickverse film, but no one knows the franchise like Stahelski so his absence is felt.
Most notably, this film sees the introduction of Ana de Armas as Eve. If her presence in No Time to Die is any indication, she can convincingly kick ass. De Armas is a commanding star in anything she appears in, and this is no exception. Eve works as a protagonist thanks to the layers she brings to her performance and how well she sells the tension and brutal nature of the action. As she increases her kill count, she becomes increasingly convincing in the role. Regardless of my investment in the narrative, de Armas creates a solid character in Eve who I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing again in the future. Reeves and McShane are as good as they have been in every Wick project to date, and that’s no different here. They both exhibit solid chemistry with de Armas and make the scenes they share together some of the more memorable.
In the end, Ballerina fights through a wayward first half to deliver a second half full of non-stop action and explosive fun. There’s a few strange subplots that don’t really amount to anything, but the revenge story at the forefront is simple enough to follow from beginning to end. While it’s lacking the cinematic edge that makes the Wick films so appealing, it benefits from having Ana de Armas at the forefront as she brings out both the emotional and ass-kicking qualities.
7.4/10
Everything Movie Reviews 