There's more than meets the eye with the new John Wick spinoff, "Ballerina." Beyond the good looks of the movie and its star lies a killer addition to the Wickverse.
It starts, like all good John Wick movies do, with a killing. After witnessing her father's murder at the hands of a mysterious Cult as punishment for breaking their rules, young Eve Macarro (who eventually grows up to be Ana de Armas) is found by Winston (Ian McShane) and hidden away by the Ruska Roma. Under the auspices of its Director (Anjelica Houston), Eve matures into a pretty good ballerina—and one of Ruska Roma's sharpest assassins.
A vengeful Eve carries out hits for the Ruska Roma while being constantly warned to stay out of the Cult's sights. After a chance meeting with none other than John Wick (Keanu Reeves) himself, Eve decides to ignore the Director's warnings and sets out to find the Cult and avenge her father once and for all. But what she finds are dangerous secrets, even more dangerous opponents, and the ire of the underworld's most powerful clans. Who does a girl have to kill to catch a break?
It's easy to belittle Ballerina as a careless "Jane Wick" cash-in, but it bucks comparison on the back of Ana de Armas' sultry charm and her ability to effortlessly handle a Glock 17. She puts those Oscar-nominated acting chops to good use as both the movie's angel of death and emotional anchor with a depth of character we don't often see in the franchise.
Trimmed of the exercises in excess the John Wick movies have devolved into, Ballerina is also a welcome return to its roots. Director Len Wiseman treats the Wickverse's inherent violence as punctuation marks rather than whole sentences, resulting in thrilling action set pieces that don't overstay their welcome.
But what is very welcome to stay is Ana de Armas, whose self-assured performance makes for arresting viewing, punching above her weight class in every scene. She holds her own even in the presence of the series' mainstays like Ian McShane's Winston and Anjelica Houston's Director.
With the Wickverse having reached Fast & Furious-levels of absurdity, you would think there's nothing new to see in its endless cavalcade of violence. But Ballerina introduces clever new ways to kill a man (or woman) in creative—and often comic—gunfights, fistfights, and even literal fire fights (with a sequence involving flamethrowers you have to see to believe).
It's audacious to continue the John Wick series without John Wick, but when the entire movie is firing on all cylinders, you can't help but be excited for what comes next. There's no casting out this Eve from the garden—Ballerina is here to stay. Highly recommended!
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