Ana de Armas is pretty hardcore in Ballerina, a John Wick spinoff directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld and Live Free or Die Hard). She plays Eve – an orphan raised in a secret school of assassins who decides to chase down her father’s killer. Produced by Chad Stahelski, who directed all the Wick movies and is a former stuntman, this flick has major fight scenes in its DNA. If you’re looking for bone-crunching action, you will not be disappointed.
If you want well-drawn characters and a coherent story, however, you might want to go see Sinners again. This flick is being pitched as an “interquel,” which means it takes place between John Wick 3 and 4. That doesn’t mean much beyond giving the filmmakers a reason to insert characters from the franchise into this flick with little to no explanation. Storytelling is not a big consideration here. The plot is just justification for people to beat the snot out of each other.
The main story thread here is that Eve wants revenge. It’s not a subtle movie. Hey, I’m not complaining. I bought a ticket to this show knowing that it wasn’t a stirring courtroom drama. If you came to see Ana throw down then you definitely get your money’s worth. Ballerina is an extremely brutal dance of fists and feet, blood and bullets. These fights are so intense that you’ll probably need to visit your chiropractor after watching this movie.
Those punches look like they really hurt, but Ana is up for it. She plays Eve with steely determination. The movie starts with her as a child losing her dad after the bad guys sneak into their palatial estate. He had taken her away from her dead mom’s family, who were apparently not very nice. Her pop is killed and she is found by Winston, John Wick’s mentor played by Ian McShane. He takes her to Ruska Roma, a ballet school run by Angelica Huston (as seen in John Wick 3) that fronts for a secret coven of assassins.
Huston and her lieutenant (Sharon Duncan-Brewster from Dune and Rogue One) teach Eve to do pirouettes and kick butt. This training montage reminds me a lot of the Red Room scenes in ScarJo’s Black Widow flick. In fact, Ballerina has several similarities with that underrated MCU entry. They both feature waifs who grow up learning how to dance and murder people. Black Widow just has superheroes and Ballerina has graphic violence and background players who look like models from classy European perfume ads.
Following several training montages, the movie jumps about a dozen years to Eve’s killer debut as an enforcer/bodyguard. She fights off a cadre of high-kicking kidnappers to save a debutante in some hipster igloo-themed disco. Now firmly established as a badass, Eve starts accepting contracts and taking care of business. During one such job, she’s attacked by an assassin that she identifies as being part of the same crew that killed her dad.
Eve is now super motivated to exact vengeance but her mom-boss tells her to cool it. These guys come from a rival gang of assassins and Eve would be violating a long-standing truce if she goes after them. Eschewing diplomacy for leg-breaking action, Eve begins her pursuit by seeking out Winston. He’s sequestered in his HQ at the Continental Hotel, which is like the Holiday Inn for hitmen.
Here she encounters Charon, who oversees the front desk (Lance Reddick in his final screen appearance). He leads her to Winston who says that one of these assassin dudes is staying at their Prague location. The rest of the movie takes full advantage of the moody Eastern European locales as Eve checks into the Continental in Prague to track down her quarry. Everything looks shiny and mod despite being dimly lit like a nightclub full of well-dressed people who won’t talk to you.
Eve zeroes in on her target, who turns out to be a guy escaping from this killer gang with his young daughter in tow. He’s played by Norman Reedus, who is most famous for his role as Daryl on The Walking Dead. In case you don’t make the connection, Norman pretty much does the same stuff here as he does on TV. Eve realizes the similarities between this guy’s story and her own just as the bad guys show up and kidnap his daughter.
She follows them back to their mountain retreat, which is a village inhabited entirely by retired assassins and their families. It’s like a planned community full of people who know deadly Kung Fu and have a lot of guns. Don’t mess with the homeowners association in this joint. I’m betting the dues are killer (Okay, I’m done). All the hell breaks loose as Eve takes on the entire town, learning about her family history in between lethal throwdowns.
The top man here, played by Gabriel Byrne (from The Usual Suspects and Hereditary), is also the same guy who killed Eve’s dad so things get super personal. He calls Angelica Huston because their truce has been violated. To keep the peace, she sends her best guy to take care of business. Cue the John Wick cameo. Before he arrives, Eve manages to destroy most of the village in an ever-escalating series of fights that play like a sizzle reel for stunt combat.
If you’ve ever wondered what a shootout with flamethrowers or a knife fight using the blades from ice skates would look like onscreen, here you go. Dude, they stage a shootout with FLAMETHROWERS. It’s bonkers! No matter how crazy things get, I still think they missed a great opportunity by not choreographing at least one fight to Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” I mean, she IS a ballerina, right? It would totally jibe with this flick’s no-holds-barred attitude.
Ballerina allows you to turn off your brain and get lost for a few hours in a montage of kill shots and karate moves. It even shoehorns John Wick into the action for an added thrill. It’s fun to see Ana de Armas throwing elbows with Keanu Reeves even if his cameo serves little purpose beyond brand synergy. This flick feels less like its own story than a blatant attempt by Team Wick to milk their cash cow for a few more ducats. But if you like your popcorn with a side of carnage, Ballerina is your jam.
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Author: Jeff Stanford
Nerd Dad who loves his family, coffee and movies.
