From the world of ‘John Wick’ comes your next high-octane thriller
Action-packed ‘Ballerina’ dances its way into the iconic pantheon
"From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina" is a spinoff from the highly acclaimed series of "John Wick."
Trained in the traditions of the deadly Ruska Roma, Eve Macarro, played by Ana de Armas ("Knives Out"), goes out on a mission of revenge. She travels the world to find the cult who killed her father when she was young.
De Armas is a perfect fit in the world of John Wick. Her performance as Eve is gripping and is an absolute delight to watch. She is an absolute badass in every way. She is a character of few words, but her actions speak loudly.
It was interesting to see Eve play more of a protector role, while John Wick is a straight-up assassin. Eve isn't supposed to kill; rather, her main objective is to protect via her role as a bodyguard. This plot device is used for some awesome action scenes where she beats the tar out of some people. (Don't worry, in the second half of the film, Eve gets to brutally murder some people, even involving some grenades and a flamethrower!)
"From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina" is a spinoff from the highly acclaimed series of John Wick. Trained in the traditions of the deadly Ruska Roma, Eve Macarro played by Ana De Armas ("Knives Out") or The Ballerina goes out on a mission of revenge as she travels the world to find the cult responsible for the death of her father, when she was young.
The rest of the cast is good too. Keanu Reeves is back as John Wick; Lance Reddick performs for the last time as Charon before his untimely passing; and Ian McShane is back as Winston for a few scenes as well.
Norman Reedus ("The Walking Dead") makes his debut as Pine, though he is severely underutilized; and Gabriel Bryne ("Hereditary") does a great job as the main villain, the Chancellor. Anjelica Huston ("The Adams Family") also returns as the director of the Ruska Roma and does a great job.
All the action is bone-breaking gold, and some of the deaths in this movie get really gnarly. I was surprised by the number of explosions in this movie, and all the kills look fantastic.
I will say the movie suffers from a very overdone plot and a stupid twist at the end that really didn't need to happen. Also, the amount of screen time Reedus gets is criminal, even though he's led to be a big part, from the trailers.
Overall, this is a solid entry in the "John Wick" franchise and should be seen by any action movie lover. You don't have to see the other films in order to see this one, so if this is your first foray into Wick's world, it's a good one. Get your tickets fast!
I'd give Ballerina an 8/10.
