Ballerina: From the World of John Wick

Ballerina: From the World of John Wick
Starring Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Keanu Reeves
Directed by Len Wiseman

Back in 2014, Keanu Reeves was still a respected actor, but his roles were very few and far between. Then there was a little action movie called "John Wick," and Reeves was thrust once again into the good graces of the world, and has enjoyed his "Keanussance" since then. The small-budget movie has gone on to spawn three sequels, each one more successful than the last, and has given birth to the best modern-day action franchise. Each movie is stylistic, filled with intense action sequences, and some of the most talked-about moments in film (who can forget the dragon's breath scene from "John Wick 4?") - so it's almost impossible to keep the momentum going, but they do so with the franchise's first spin-off, "Ballerina." While not as intense or well-put-together as the flagship series, "Ballerina" has its own charm and fantastic action set pieces, with a more-than-capable Ana de Armas at the helm.

After the murder of her father at a young age, young Eve Macarro (Victoria Comte) is taken in by Winston Scott (Ian McShane) and given to the Director (Anjelica Huston), the leader of the Ruska Roma - an organization of ballerina assassins. As she grows up, Eve (Ana de Armas) has one desire: to get revenge against those who killed her father. She learns that the group that orchestrated the murder is led by the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), and has an agreement with the Director to not get involved in each others' affairs. Going rogue, Eve tracks down the cult of assassins and sets out to achieve her revenge, but the Director doesn't want open war between herself and the Chancellor, so she sends in her own assassin to deal with Eve - the Baba Yaga himself, John Wick (Keanu Reeves).

Once the action sets in, "Ballerina" is every part "John Wick"'s equal, giving us dizzying action sequences with fast-paced excitement and gruesome kills, all at the hands of the more-than-capable Eve Maccaro, and an equally more-than-capable Ana de Armas. Sadly, it takes a bit of time to get there, and the scenes beforehand are filled with cliches and generic training tropes that would've resulted in a bomb in any other movie, but fortunately we get into the action before it gets too monotonous and boring.

The "John Wick" franchise - which has garnered over $800,000,000 worldwide - is hailed for its stylized fighting and Keanu Reeves' incomparable lead performance, and obviously that can never be matched in any spinoff series, but "Ballerina" does a great job at getting as close to the original's heartbeat as it could. Both feature a kickass lead who's fueled by revenge (John Wick for those who killed his dog, and Eve for those who killed her father); both live in a world filled with rules and regulations that aren't normally found in action movies (to me, the most unique rule in the franchise is the Continental hotel and how no one is allowed to fight in it, leading to unique conversations between foes you'd never find anywhere else); and both dazzle audiences with its unique, one-of-a-kind action sequences. "Ballerina" just feels a bit less than the original, but again that's expected with a spinoff series, so I wasn't too bothered by it.

Ana de Armas's Eve is a lot different than Reeves' Wick, in that she is less trained than he is, and is more proactive than reactive. While Wick is thoughtful in his approach, Eve goes in guns blazing (sometimes literally) and is more a force of nature than Wick's precision hits. The only thing you really know about Eve is that she's avenging her father's death, and in four "John Wick" films, all you really know about Wick is he came out of retirement because assassins killed his dog. These films aren't designed for you to know every aspect of our hero's journeys, just the bloody destruction in their wake, and again, both pull it off very well ("Ballerina's" claim to fame will easily be the dueling flame thrower battle). Once it gets into its groove, "Ballerina" is non-stop action that borders on the comical without being the butt of the joke, such as when she uses a pair of ice skates to killer perfection. De Armas excels in this sort of role, and it was nice seeing her reunite with Keanu Reeves after their very different movie "Knock Knock" in 2015 (although, to be honest, Reeves' role wasn't really necessary and only served as fan service to the franchise - the movie takes place between "John Wick 3" and "John Wick 4," and if you know those stories, it's hard to piece the timeline together).

The Score: A