Lionsgate was always going to need to take the John Wick franchise in a new direction if it wanted to keep the film series going after the inevitable exit of its central star. A spinoff series came and went with a telling lack of fanfare that spoke, in part, to how John Wick stories feel like they were meant to be experienced in movie theaters. And while the studio has a second tie-in show in the works, it seems like another project that might wind up being a sign that John Wick works best on the silver screen.
On paper, director Len Wiseman’s awkwardly named From the World of John Wick: Ballerina feature sounds like the sort of straightforward parallel prequel that could work as the beginning of a new chapter for the larger franchise. There’s a simplicity to the story and a comedic whimsy to (some of) its action that feels true to the John Wick brand. And there are enough returning faces from the older films that it works fairly well as a crash course introduction to this gore-filled world of assassins.
But in practice, Ballerina lacks a lot of the near-camp flair that made previous John Wick films fun, and most of its set pieces feel uninspired. Rather than using its story to show you how an ordinary person learns the ins and outs of the assassin lifestyle, Ballerina spends most of its runtime riffing on narrative beats from other action films. That might have worked if the movie’s leading actor delivered a compelling performance that sold her character as the series’ rightful heir. But Ana de Armas’ acting — especially compared to that of her co-stars — falls too flat for its own good.
Set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4, Ballerina chronicles the rise of Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) as she becomes one of the world’s most-wanted hired killers. As an orphan raised within the Ruska Roma, Eve knows that she’s destined to follow in the bloody footsteps of her adoptive mother, the Director (Anjelica Huston). But part of her still yearns to leave her violent life behind to pursue a career as a ballerina. It’s a dream that Eve’s father (David Castañeda) encouraged her to hold onto during her childhood while he worked to keep their small family safe and far away from another clan of deadly assassins. But after being forced to watch his murder at the hands of the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne) as a child, Eve locks that part of herself away in order to focus on revenge.
As one of the Ruska Roma’s strongest young students, it doesn’t take much for Eve to convince the Director to let her start going on assignments to take out and / or protect high-profile targets. But when one of her missions brings her face-to-face with a member of the Chancellor’s clan, she breaks protocol and starts hunting more of them down, knowing full well that her adoptive family will take swift action to stop her before she sets off a war.
Compared to past John Wick films, there’s a roughness to Ballerina’s choreographed fights that’s meant to highlight how relatively new Eve is to operating in the field and how, because of her small stature, she has to be creative in her approach to taking on larger opponents. While Eve finds herself in plenty of shoot-outs, the film often leaves her with nothing but her wits and whatever mundane objects (rather than weapons) happen to be laying around.
It’s an idea that works well enough throughout Ballerina’s first act, when we’re first shown her signature move of using her bodyweight to snap people’s necks and arms. Though Ballerina’s script cribs some story beats from Kill Bill and Marvel’s Black Widow, the film’s action is classic John Wick in the way its brawls emphasize the artistry of stunt fighting. But as the film progresses, it quickly becomes clear that Eve doesn’t have many other tricks up her sleeve, and the few that she does have tend to feel like steps de Armas is counting her way through.
Acting has never really been the big draw for John Wick movies, but there’s an emotionally wooden quality to de Armas’ performance that makes Eve hard to buy as a complex, conflicted character. This is especially apparent in scenes between Eve and Ballerina’s other returning characters from John Wick’s past like New York Continental owner Winston Scott (Ian McShane) and hotel concierge Charon (the late Lance Reddick in his final on-screen performance).
Where Ballerina does work well is in moments where it embraces the cartoon energy that’s always been present in the John Wick franchise and served to offset the visceral brutality of its brawls. It’s tough watching Eve slash people’s faces to shreds with ice skates on her hands, but it’s wildly fun watching her use a fire hose to square off with someone wielding a flamethrower. De Armas’ awkwardness actually feels like more of a feature than a bug in scenes that double down on the idea that Eve is learning on the job and still getting used to the ridiculousness of being an assassin in this heightened reality. But Ballerina insists on returning to a serious tone that does no favors for its lead actor.
It’s easy to imagine Ballerina really shining with a little bit more live-action cartoon energy and a narrative that actually felt like a journey through the world of John Wick. But for that kind of a good time, we’re going to have to wait for whatever the franchise has next.
