Review: 'Ballerina' and Ana de Armas bring signature 'John Wick' action burdened by unnecessary lore
The “John Wick” spinoff delivers high-octane kills, but gets tripped up by too much lore and too little character
Three years ago, Ana de Armas pirouetted into “No Time to Die” for all of 10 minutes, swirled through a ballroom in a tuxedo gown, lit up the screen with a submachine gun, and left just as quickly. It was a breathless, unforgettable jolt of charisma – the kind of scene that screams give this woman her own action movie.
So when news broke 20 days later that de Armas was in talks to star in a “John Wick” spinoff, the casting felt inevitable. Of course she belongs in that universe. Of course she should be taking out henchmen in stilettos. Of course she’s trained by the same shadowy Ruska Roma organization that molded Baba Yaga himself.
But “Ballerina” isn’t the clean, kill-first-ask-questions-never kind of thrill ride it should be. Instead, it’s a spinoff that gets tangled in its own lore – as if it forgot the whole reason people show up to a “John Wick” movie in the first place.
De Armas plays Eve Macarro, an assassin with a tragic past whose father was murdered when she was just a girl. Taken in by the Ruska Roma, aka the ballerina-slash-assassin-training-academy from “John Wick,” Eve spends the next dozen years turning grief into a kill count. But when she finally uncovers who’s responsible for her father’s death, she sets off on a path of revenge that plays like... well, “John Wick,” if you swapped out the puppy for a parent and hit pause on the momentum every 10 minutes for an unnecessary lore dump.
Interestingly enough, writer Shay Hatten initially penned “Ballerina” as its own action flick simply inspired by the “John Wick Chapter 2.” But once Lionsgate got their hands on it, the script was retrofitted to slot into the Wick-verse – which explains why all the Ruska Roma deep dives and criminal underworld lore feel so wedged in. Because, well, they are.
To be fair, the Wick-iverse was never built on groundbreaking storytelling. What made “John Wick” work so well was its simplicity: a man, a loss, a mission – all delivered with brutal efficiency and style. “Ballerina” seems to understand the formula, but can’t resist stuffing itself with expository filler. It’s set in the midst of the third “John Wick” film and yes, Keanu Reeves makes a few cameos to remind you of that – but mostly so his face could help sell the trailer.
Less talking more action has always been a good strategy for the “John Wick” films and the same applies for “Ballerina.” Len Wiseman may be the director, but OG “Wick” genius Chad Stahelski came in for additional photography and the action sequences prove it. Ana de Armas is fully game – flipping, stabbing, and flamethrowing her way through a series of inventive, gory showdowns. We all know John Wick once killed a man “with a pencil,” but let me introduce you to Eve Macarro and her ice skates, grenades and flamethrowers.
One set piece finds Eve out of firearms but never out of ideas and getting innovative with grenades, while another sees her shooting fire in a flamethrower-on-flamethrower shoot out. If anyone on the “House of the Dragon” production team watches this, take notes.
Still, you can only ride so far on spectacle.
For all the brutal ballet on display, “Ballerina” lacks the emotional stakes and pacing precision of the original franchise. Eve never quite feels as sharply defined as Wick, and the film’s first half is bogged down by a script that confuses world-building with word-vomiting.
Ana de Armas is a movie star. That much is clear. But “Ballerina” can’t get out of its own way to let her takeover in the same way Reeves once did. The result is a film that lands a few strong punches but can’t quite stick the landing.
Star Rating: 2.5 out of 5
“Ballerina” is now playing in theaters.