If you fell in love with the disco dance of death that Director Len Wiseman is famous for delivering, then get ready for “Ballerina.” It does not disappoint! The film provides a familiar storyline with the gripping action sequences we’ve come to love in the John Wick universe.
Ana de Armas stars as Eve Macarro, a child orphaned by the writers’ room’s need for a motivating revenge, who trains with the Ruska Roma so she can track down those who killed her family. The movie opens with an adrenaline rush of a gunfight that keeps John Wick fans coming to the theater. From there, we are treated to a training montage the ’80s would envy, bloodbaths across beautiful European cities that John Wick hasn’t yet doused in assassins blood, and even a quaint mountain town full of assassins ready to fight rude tourists to the death.
You wouldn’t call it John Wick 5, but you can see where Eve Macarro is heading, covered in blood and ears ringing from the soundtrack. The revenge story isn’t as moving as a dead puppy that was a final gift from your dead wife motif, but Ana de Armas does a magnificent job at bringing Eve to life and making you root for the fledgling Ballerina. Her first protection detail emphasizes the characters newness and demonstrates her vulnerability, which is a refreshing concept in a world of people with perfect aim. The pacing and buildup are much less hurried than in the last couple of John Wick movies, but the style, music and choreography are as much of a presence as the all-ensemble cast.
We learn more about Angelica Huston’s Ruska Roma through the eyes of Eve’s education. Familiar faces, new and old, come out in droves. Gabriel Byrnes plays the mad cult leader big bad, Ian McShane plays Winston The Manager with a questionable management style again, and even the late, great Lance Reddick reprises his role as Charon on his last big screen roll. Norman Reedus is in there with some of the greatest on screen shotgun work I’ve seen since “Tombstone”.
Some of the best action sequences are birthed out of the question: “Have we killed anyone with that thing yet?” In a frozen boathouse Eve dispatches plenty of baddies with a pair of ice skates. In a fight in a cozy alpine tavern she uses every kitchen utensil ever made to take down bad guys. There’s even a flamethrower battle—yes, you read that right, dueling flamethrowers! My personal favorite is a grenade fight in closed corridors, which happily ignores physics for the pleasure of the audience. Ingenious!
So go out and see it! That’s right, I promise you a healthy dose of Keanu Reeves from “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.” The movie leaves off similarly to previous installments, where the action is just getting started, so be there from the beginning and catch Ballerina in theaters now!
