By Matthew Moorcroft

Solid Recommendation

• Directed by Len Wiseman
• Starring Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Keanu Reeves
• R

What is the real appeal of the John Wick films? Is it the action sequences, which are meticulously crafted by franchise overseerer and director Chad Stahelski? Is Keanu himself, his unique screen presence giving the franchise it’s own interesting energy? Or is it the mythology, which feels like a living graphic novel in it’s increasing ridiculousness while also maintaining a strange level of internal consistency in it’s world logic?

Ballerina… doesn’t really answer this question, as despite it seemingly existing to expand the universe and try to move away from Reeves and Wick in case he doesn’t want to return, Reeves still shows up here (albeit in a minor supporting role), the action sequences are almost entirely, and clearly, Stahelshki, and the mythology, while definitely still here, feels more in line with the first film in how it’s smaller and more contained.

As such, Ballerina ultimately does feel like more of the same, for better or worse. Ballerina‘s biggest failing is one of contradiction, unable to really bring anything particularly new to the table in regards to both it’s series as well as modern action films, though to be honest I don’t think it could or really needed to. It’s shackled down by franchise restrictions, even if those restrictions are basically “make it cool, make it stylish, and don’t fret about the plot details so much”.

And in that regard, yeah, Ballerina does pass with semi-flying colors. It does take a little bit to get going, with a pre-requisite origin story that takes up much of the first chunk of the story and doesn’t really boil down to much other then “her father is dead and she is big mad about it”. It’s no “my dead wife’s dog got killed”, but it’s effective enough, and once Ana de Armas, who is clearly having a great time in action star mode, gets the full black outfit and jacket, the film kicks into high gear and basically never stops. Eve is an immediately flawless addition to the canon of Wick, fitting into the vibes effortlessly and having her own distinct fighting style outside of the rest of the cast. If John is more precise and clinical, Eve is far more improvised, more keen on explosives and other weapons then the classic pistol and assault rifles of the mainline flicks.

Doing away with the heavy focus on High Table politics that characterize so much of the mainline entries, once the ball drops Ballerina is the closest the series has come to almost non-stop action spectacle. There is almost no breathing room, even as the story takes some twists and turns in order to keep the stakes high and ever-evolving. A familial reveal from this suffers a bit from being rushed, but this sense of constant movement does mean the film feels lean and mean with very little fluff, and knows what the audience wants to see. The excellent climax of the feature, which involves flamethrowers, showdowns in the snow, a car crash, and the equivalent of an anime beam clash between fire and water, is some of the best stuff in a franchise that continuously tops itself at every turn in terms of action, and the rest of it is no slouch either. So many grenades!

Much of this somewhat breezy feeling is likely due to the reshoots and troubled production, which is mildly noticeable here. The story, very consciously, is a skeleton, turned into nothing more then a vehicle for shootouts and increasingly insane uses of household objects as weapons; a plate fight scene in particular is hysterical. What could have doomed the project though was turned into it’s main strength, as Ballerina‘s recognition of it’s strengths – and Ana de Armas’ screen presence – does save it and keep it consistently good. It helps it’s visually dazzling too, continuing the series’ trend of being some of the better looking blockbusters on the market with it’s deep blues and shadows, even if the Stahelski led films are still a bit more impressive in that regard as well.

If Ballerina‘s legacy is to be “that one strange spin-off to a perfect series of action movies”, I think there are worse things to be called. Frankly, it’s a miracle Ballerina is even halfway decent at all, and while I have no idea how much of Len Wiseman is left in this, the final result does sort of speak for itself in the realization of Armas as a genuine star. Well worth the price of admission, even if it’s not necessarily anything new.