Let’s rewind to 2021. In only ten minutes of screen-time, Ana de Armas, playing the supporting role of CIA agent Paloma in No Time To Die, stole the show, kicking SPECTRE ass alongside Daniel Craig in spectacular style. It was the first indicator that she was primed for action-hero greatness. And though roles in The Gray Man and Ghosted followed, it’s only now with Ballerina — a spin-off set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4 — that that early promise has come into full bloom. And not a moment too soon. For make no mistake: the John Wick franchise now has another force to be reckoned with.
Once again, vengeance is the name of the game. Mercifully, no dogs are harmed this time around. When her father is murdered, Eve Macarro (de Armas) is set on a bloody path; that path includes rigorous training in the ways of both ballet and contract-killing at the criminal organisation run by the Ruska Roma, under the watchful eye of the Director (a formidable Anjelica Huston, returning to the series). When Eve uncovers information on her father’s murderers, she defies her orders and hunts them down in a quest that takes her to the New York Continental (featuring a brief but welcome appearance from the late, great Lance Reddick), and then to an Austrian village teeming with assassins.
At its impressive best when the bodies are dropping.
Ballerina is at its impressive best when the bodies are dropping. Rather than follow the well-established rulebook of the John Wick universe, one of the best decisions director Len Wiseman makes is to just have fun with it. The best example comes when Eve goes to a weapons sommelier — a Wick staple — but her meeting gets violently interrupted mid-demonstration in a fight that sees her lob grenades at her attackers. It’s a brilliant subversion of expectations, and a potent example of Eve’s resourcefulness.
Indeed, there is a pleasingly rich amount of variety in Ballerina’s action — from flamethrowers to katana swords to ice skates. If there’s a big gun or a sharp object in Eve’s vicinity, chances are it’ll be put to use in short order. Each encounter has that familiar slick Wick choreography that makes it feel like everyone is one wrong move away from getting seriously hurt. That de Armas is doing many of the stunts herself makes proceedings more visceral and compelling, so much so that we don’t miss the presence of Keanu Reeves’ boogeyman. When the Baba Yaga does show up it’s a deservedly grand entrance, quickly and humorously reminding us that there are levels to this game and there’s a reason why he’s earned his near-mythical status.
The narrative linking the action together is not quite as sophisticated, though. An over-before-it-begins subplot involving Eve and the enigmatic Lena (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is especially underdeveloped. Similar could be said for Norman Reedus’ mysterious Daniel Pine, who isn’t given enough screen-time to really resonate beyond being a concerned father. One less extended action beat and a couple more character-focused scenes could have paid dividends here, but Ballerina is in too much of a hurry to get to the fisticuffs.
Still, the fate-versus-choice themes all over Shay Hatten’s script are well-considered. “A bullet is not good or evil,” mutters Gabriel Byrne’s villainous Chancellor early on. “What a man chooses to do with it reveals their character.” With every bullet shot, knife thrown and grenade lobbed, we understand a little more why Eve has chosen the path she has, and why — despite being given multiple outs — she chooses to stay on it. Here’s hoping she sticks around in the Wick universe for a while longer.
