Posted in: Kaitlyn Booth, Lionsgate, Movies, Review | Tagged: Ballerina

Ballerina Review: Ana de Armas Shines in Flawed but Wick-Worthy Entry

Ballerina can't quite match the impossible standards of the films it shares a cinematic universe with and has a rocky first act, but once things get going, it really finds its footing.

Ballerina can't elevate itself from "pretty good" to "great" the same way previous entries in the John Wick franchise have, but it's an enjoyable time at the movies with some fantastic action scenes and one badass leading lady.

Director: Len Wiseman
Summary: Set during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum, the film follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) as she begins her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.

Ballerina Might Miss Greatness, But Pretty Damn Good Isn't Bad Either

It was pretty apparent from the moment the first movie ended that there was something special about John Wick and it became even more apparent that it was not a one-off when the subsequent movies kept up the quality that the original brought to the table. Ever since, it has become apparent that everyone involved wanted this to become bigger than just a series of movies because the thing that makes the John Wick movies special isn't John himself, but the world around him, and that is something that can exist without Keanu Reeves. Or, at least, that is the theory. We haven't seen it play out successfully yet since the first spin-off show, The Continental, stumbled hard. Now we have the first spin-off movie, Ballerina, aiming to be the first big success story in terms of expanding this universe, as more movies and shows wait in the wings. It's unclear how much impact Ballerina's success or failure will have on these projects, but it's something everyone involved will take note of, that's for sure. And while Ballerina makes an extremely valiant effort to truly recapture everything special about the John Wick movies, it can't quite elevate itself beyond being pretty damn good.

That might have something to do with the benchmark it is coming against. This isn't a movie coming in on its own terms, so you have to judge it against all four of the previous John Wick films, because they are connected. When you set the bar as high as these films have, it's hard for anyone to hit the mark, so you have to wonder if people would be kinder to Ballerina if it weren't trying to go up against some of the best action movies of the decade. Ballerina isn't trying to separate itself from the John Wick universe either, there are plenty of connections from characters to seeing scenes from the third film playing out from different POV's. It's trying to enter an established world while also adding some new elements, and that might be the first place where it really stumbles.

One of the things that set the John Wick films apart was the worldbuilding and the way the movies used "show, don't tell." For Ballerina, there is a lot of lore, backstory, history, and even time to cover, so the beginning of the movie is very exposition-heavy. This might be the most exposition-heavy first act this franchise has ever seen, and despite the opening action scene trying to mitigate it, it doesn't stop that first act from dragging on far too long and feeling so clunky in the process. Eve, played by Ana de Armas, is just starting off her career as an assassin, and that means a lot of training montages. There had to be other ways to show that Eve was beginning her journey without just showing her training. Both de Armas and the rest of the crew have spoken extensively about how they wanted to show, in every aspect of her character from her costume to the way she fought, that Eve was new at this and was getting her ass kicked. That is a better method of "show, don't tell" than watching her fail a training regime or being thrown around a mat. 

A Clunky First Act Makes Way For A Much Stronger Back Half

Once the movie is, more or less, done explaining itself and Eve is out on her own, things improve quite a bit. The film still requires a lot of people explaining things to Eve, and there are character moments that fall completely flat, but the breakneck pace the film sets once Eve is out on her own makes up for the sins of the first act. The fights in this movie are brutal, because Eve is getting her ass kicked, and she has to use weapons and objects you might not expect as weapons in extremely creative ways. From grenades to a flamethrower to ice skates, Ballerina makes sure to use everything to its fullest. The film is also lifted by a great performance from the leading lady. It's so clear that de Armas put everything she had into this role, and you really feel for her as the movie heads into the third act. She is getting beaten down physically and emotionally, but she keeps getting up and finds creative ways to make the people around her underestimate what she is capable of.

The action scenes are a lot of fun, and the entire setup for the third act makes for some truly brutal fights. Then there is John Wick himself. Before they announced the fifth film, we guessed that Reeves would turn up in small roles in spin-off films and TV shows since he seemed kind of done with all of this, and that is what he does in Ballerina. This is Eve's movie, wholly and completely, but there is enough John, and he gets his own action scene, which shows a nice contrast between how Eve fights and how John fights. Director Len Wiseman is a good director, but it's clear he doesn't have the same eye for action as Chad Stahelski. Everything isn't as cinematic, or dynamic, or well-shot as you expect from a film in the John Wick universe. It's not bad, it's just not up to the impossible standards set up by the previous films. Stahelski only got involved later on in the production, so maybe his being there from the beginning will make a difference for any films or shows that he isn't personally directing.

Ballerina can't quite match the impossible standards of the films it shares a cinematic universe with and a rocky first act, but once things get going, it really finds its footing.  There was something here that didn't quite come together both in terms of story and directing that keeps it from feeling like it can go toe to toe with the other films in this franchise, but this is the first attempt as a big-screen spin-off, so there is room to figure out how to elevate the next one. This new corner of the John Wick universe is open now and with all the time they took to explain it in this film, we can hope they decide to explore it again in another film, and maybe this one can focus more on character and elevating the entire production to the greatness it was just just missing this time around.

Ballerina

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Review by Kaitlyn Booth

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8/10

Ballerina can't elevate itself from "pretty good" to "great" the same way previous entries in the John Wick franchise have, but it's an enjoyable time at the movies with some fantastic action scenes and one badass leading lady.

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