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There’s nothing worse than something being afraid of what it is, and the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina, the first-ever John Wick spin-off movie, is exactly that.
The key word is spin-off (its full title is From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, in fairness), which indicates a side adventure in a larger universe. Ballerina operates fine as its own movie, but its insistence on including Keanu Reeves may be its biggest flaw. He brings the same performance to the table as you would expect, but his presence could have been limited to a scene or two.
Plus, it’s not as if Ballerina fails to remind you that it is set in the John Wick universe. Even if you’ve only seen one of the movies, you’d likely remember the Continental Hotel or the bevy of familiar faces and settings not named John Wick.
As a result, it feels like Ballerina’s filmmakers were scared to put it out into the ether on its own. They appeared to believe de Armas’ first leading action role needed a knight in shining armor.
And that’s a shame because Ballerina is otherwise a good time. Its plot is as thin as any of the other John Wick movies, but the action actually hits, unlike the last two installments, where you became desensitized to it. For as badass as it is, seeing Keanu Reeves mow through nameless bodyguards grows tired after a while.
Ballerina doesn't have that same problem. There is lots of action, but there is innovation the series hasn't seen since the opening moments of Parabellum.
Ultimately, this is exactly what the franchise needed. If there is a follow-up, there should be less Reeves and more faith in de Armas to lead a movie.
Ballerina review: What's it about?
As a girl, Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) watches her father die. He is hunted down and killed by a cult-like crime syndicate. His death leaves Eve to train under the Director (Anjelica Houston) as a ballerina and a dangerous assassin.
Years after her father's death, Eve encounters John Wick (Keanu Reeves) at one of the hotels. She asks for her way out — to which he swiftly replies, “The front door is open” — and into the world of being an assassin.
Their encounter leads Eve to become one of their top assassins. She does the job for months before finding someone with the same symbol on their arm as the people who killed her dad.
So, against the Director's wishes, Eve begins hunting down the group that killed her father. Little does she know the threat she is up against. The ruthless cult is more than she bargained for.
Ballerina's John Wick problem
The initial meeting between Eve and John is shown in Ballerina's marketing. I understand that calling a movie Ballerina does not necessarily scream “John Wick spin-off,” so having the characters cross paths makes sense.
The John Wick universe may not have expanded enough to rely on other characters yet, but his inclusion goes beyond a brief cameo. Ballerina is the first spin-off movie, and The Continental came and went on Peacock.
That is where Ballerina crosses the line. He ends up being pivotal to the ending because that's how screenwriter Shay Hatten wrote him into the film.
There is a version of Ballerina where Eve does not need John's help. But instead, Hatten and director Len Wiseman opt to have him sloppily inserted into the movie's most pivotal moments.
Let it be known that Reeves is not the problem. You get what you expect from a Keanu Reeves performance as John Wick in Ballerina, and he delivers on that front.
I just cannot wrap my mind around why they couldn't let de Armas be fully front and center here. She carries most of Ballerina, and those who loved her bit role in No Time to Die will love this movie too.
All I can hope for is Ballerina doing great at the box office. Perhaps then we could get a proper movie where de Armas is the center of attention.
Ana de Armas' first leading action role
While de Armas had a beloved appearance in No Time to Die (and a leading role in the less-favored The Gray Man), she had not led an action flick like Ballerina before.
She has had moments of badassery, like being the lone standout in The Gray Man or in Ghosted, but Ballerina is a make-or-break moment for her.
De Armas succeeds with flying colors. Her performance as Eve is purposely not as refined as Paloma in No Time to Die. In Ballerina, Eve is still learning, despite how good of an assassin she is.
It's a shame that it has taken so long for Hollywood to give her an opportunity like this. De Armas was built for roles like Eve, and studio executives should take note.
Her vulnerable performance
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Eve has a vulnerability that most action heroes lack. Take John Wick, for example, who went from a relatively relatable guy seeking revenge to someone in between Superman and Dom Torretto. He kills hundreds in each movie, and it becomes mindless after a while.
While Eve is capable of taking out armies, the fight sequences are intentionally not as fluid as what you see in a John Wick movie. She has to claw her way through some of these fight scenes, which were well choreographed. The best of them has to be when Eve fights through an entire home goods store.
There are lessons the main John Wick series could learn from Ballerina, namely to make the character vulnerable again. Even Tom Cruise finds ways of making Ethan Hunt appear in peril in the Mission: Impossible series. The John Wick series lost that, even with how the fourth movie ends.
Luckily, Ballerina has not faced that problem yet. We'll see how future installments in the series go, but I assume de Armas will continue bringing a vulnerability to the character.
The franchise's continued expansion
I would have to imagine that Ballerina is only the first of many planned spin-off movies in the John Wick universe. Its biggest problem largely falls on the shoulders of the franchise's executives.
The character of Eve already had connections to the High Table, so the inclusion of the Director, Winston Scott (Ian McShane), and, of course, the great Charon (the late Lance Reddick) made sense.
For as great as it is, Ballerina feels trapped in a Skywalker-like saga. There's nothing wrong with references to the older movies, but its scope feels limited, thanks to its connection to John Wick.
While Hatten is somewhat to blame for Ballerina's over-reliance on the John Wick character, the rest of his script is pretty clean. Ballerina is not a Christopher Nolan epic with twists and turns; its simplicity harkens back to the movie that launched this franchise.
Should you watch Ballerina?
An Ana de Armas-led action movie like Ballerina is never going to disappoint, even if it is caught in the John Wick web. For its flaws, it brings a new flavor to the franchise, which was growing increasingly stale by the time Parabellum ended. Which is funny, considering stunt coordinator Stephen Dunlevy returns from Chapter 4.
Its fundamental flaws stem from its part in a greater cinematic universe. The studio clearly didn't trust de Armas to sell this movie, hence Reeves' inclusion.
If nothing else, de Armas proves them wrong with her performance in Ballerina. Everyone loves Reeves, perhaps the most wholesome Hollywood star, but his stiff acting is showed up by an Oscar-nominated actress in de Armas.
For a while, it seemed like the John Wick franchise could only go as far as Keanu Reeves would take it, much like Tom Cruise with Mission: Impossible. However, Ballerina proves it doesn't need John around.
At this point, they should give de Armas the reins to this franchise.
Grade: B
Ballerina will be released on June 6.
