Ever since Keanu Reeves came on to the movie scene as John Wick back in 2014, he introduced us to a fascinating world of assassins. It would be fair to say that we can’t get enough of this world. With each John Wick movie we are introduced more and more to the overall lore. Finally we have our first spin off movie called Ballerina which centers on a character named Eve who is trained by the same organization that trained John Wick, the Ruska Roma. Eve is played by the versatile and talented Ana de Armas. This movie is a breath of fresh air within a movie franchise that while great has started to become stale and somebody needed to take up the mantle after John Wick 4. I won’t go as far as to say that this movie is better than any of the John Wick movies, but it’s a fun spin-off that has a lot of potential. It’s still a John Wick movie as Keanu Reeves reprises his role before the character’s demise. The story takes place between the movies John Wick 3 and 4. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the John Wick movies, not just for Keanu Reeves but for all of the other characters like Winston who runs the Continental and Charon, the hotel manager. Unfortunately this movie it is the last time that we will get to see Lance Reddick reprise the role. Ballerina offers more insight to the story of John Wick and the lore among the world of assassins. I enjoyed the movie despite its problems. But make no mistake, this is a fun movie.
Ana de Armas is great as the Ballerina. Almost perfect casting! She and Keanu Reeves have a great chemistry that oozes on the Big spring throughout the movie. But this is a movie that is built upon a lot of great action just like the other John Wick movies. The action is good even when it’s dull at times. But Eve is a character that you root for even when she breaks the rules by seeking revenge against the man who killed her father despite an uneasy truce with him and the Roma Ruska. Yes the story is a bit predictable and that doesn’t matter because of the action and the perfect villain. John Wick movies have always had really good villains, this one is no exception. Irish actor Gabriel Byrne plays the leader of a clan that most consider a cult and there are certainly some interesting mysteries regarding his relationship with the ballerina. Don’t worry… I’m not going to spoil it!!! It’s worth the price of a move pit ticket just to find out. Action movies like this can never be good without a proper villain and Gabriel Byrne certainly fits the bill. What this movie really has going for it is matching the same level of action as the previous John Wick movies and having Keanu Reeves in it.
Unfortunately, while the movie is entertaining, this is why it doesn’t live up to the other John Wick. I consider the movie fairly bland because except for a somewhat predictable mystery surrounding the lineage of the ballerina, this movie follows the same formula. It’s the story of an assassin who goes rogue and has to be hunted down. The other downfall of the movie is while it’s great to have Keanu Reeves back is John Wick because that’s what we really want, having his character in the movie is what props this movie up and makes it worth watching which is what the main character should do. Eve is an interesting character and I hope that we get to see her again, but she’s being introduced to this world by a legacy character because of the nostalgia, not because her story is unique and will grab the attention of the audience. We see this time and time again in movies. We literally just saw this in the Karate Kid Legends movie where the story had to be propped up by legacy characters that were unnecessary. I understand why it was important to have John Wick in this movie as a way to introduce Eve and how she connects to everything. Going forward it’s not necessary and would only serve as a glorified cameo. But despite all this, the action and fight choreography are off the charts and it does keep you on the edge of your seat providing one hell of a thrill ride until the end. It doesn’t have to be a great movie to be entertaining.
As I said before, I like this movie and I think everybody who is a John Wick fan should go see it. There are so many stories in the John Wick universe that they can keep making movies and introducing new characters to which we would probably never really get bored from. I could certainly see a few more sequels with Eve as the protagonist as she is not really an assassin, but a protector. This movie really does provide a great origin story that connects to the John Wick universe and makes it entertaining. However, Just like we saw with John Wick whose first movie was really all about revenge and a way to bring him back into the Assassin’s world, future stories will need to follow the same template to keep us engrossed with the character of Eve. Ana de Armas very much makes this her movie and the reason to go see it. Hopefully, we get to see more of her character in future stories despite the fact that this movie is made better because of Keanu Reeves coming back as John Wick. The verdict… if you’re a John Wick fan then go see this movie, it’s worth the price of a movie ticket even if it can’t live up to the greatness of the other John Wick films.
