What if a girl from the John Wick universe was put through the Black Widow program from the Marvel universe? You might just get a protagonist like the one in “Ballerina.”
Ana de Armas stars as Eve in this “Wick” spin-off. An orphan, Eve is trained by an assassin tribe called the Ruska Roma after the death of her father. Ruska Roma operates by developing girls to be both capable assassins and skilled ballerina dancers when they get older.
Eve grows to become such an assassin, and never lets go of the memory of how her father was killed. After one of her missions, she finds a clue about the group possibly behind it, and decides to follow-through on revenge, even without approval from her superior.
In my review of the fourth “John Wick” film, I wrote about how the film’s simple narrative didn’t quite justify the runtime of nearly three hours. That’s more or less the same deal this time around, and this movie doesn’t even have that much of the now popularized titular character in it.
While not as long as the fourth installment, “Ballerina” is a movie that crosses the two hour mark and it never feels quite necessary to do so. Even as an origin story, which introduces a new hero and has her go off on an extensive adventure, the movie feels too drawn out.
It also doesn’t take chances to do something different or change the pace of the franchise, even when that was on the table. There’s a reveal that happens in the second half of the film, and it seems like the movie might go in an interesting direction in terms of Eve’s character arc, but that is quickly abandoned for a more straightforward third act.
What the movie does add is more lore and fleshing out of the “John Wick” universe. Unfortunately, that’s starting to work against these films, too. In the first two movies, the idea of a secretive underground world of assassins felt small, exclusive and in the shadows. But since then, it’s gotten so large and expansive that it doesn’t feel as special anymore.
That’s not to say the movie is entirely dull throughout its runtime. The sharpness of course comes from the many action set pieces that have become a staple of this series. Many of the hand-to-hand combat scenes are well done, as are sequences involving weapons.
The standout moment involves a battle with flamethrowers that highlights the picture. It’s an exciting bout, and one of several examples of creativity that goes into the action of this movie. The entertainment value at least keep the gears turning, and can hold a viewer’s attention.
Also helping on that front is Ana de Armas in the lead role. She has a strong screen presence, as seen in 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049” and 2019’s “Knives Out.” She’s good here as well, capturing the protagonist’s pathos, drive and lack of inner peace because of her past.
However, one wishes the character was a bit less reserved. It seems like she was written to be somewhat like Wick, the cold, calculated type. It would have been nice if she was more extroverted in comparison to the franchise’s main protagonist.
This is just the second film director Len Wiseman has helmed since 2010, but he and his crew make things work fairly well when it comes to the action, and having de Armas as the lead character helped, too. However, the plot remains flimsy and the movie runs out of steam the more it goes on, despite entertainment littered throughout. 3.2 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
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