Ana De Armed To The Teeth | BALLERINA Review

I already used that joke on my Instagram stories.

But it tickled me so that I just had to use it for the title. Because it wholly encapsulates not only the Ballerina experience, but the John Wick experience itself. Guns? Loaded. Fists? Clenched. Clothes? Bloodstained red. And anyone who gets in their way? Dead.

The first feature spin-off for the…From the World of John Wick universe I suppose. Ballerina, starring Ana De Armas in the lead, builds more upon the lore of Wick while adding as many bodies. While there was a limited time series for The Continental which jumped between networks, this one marks two very important things: It is on the big screen. And it features Keanu Reeves as the Baba Yaga himself. Does this mean the franchise holders see this as a requirement? Or more so it’s a Wick-like hobble toward handing over the guns, coin and plot-protected three piece suit.

Gabriel Byrne wants Eve (De Armas) back. A child of his tribe, stolen away without approval. Events then unfold which lead Eve toward a similarly blood-soaked path as Wick. Found by Winston (reprised by Ian McShane), she is guided toward the Ruska Roma and the Director (another reprisal by Anjelica Houston). Raised within their ranks which parallels one Jardani Jovonovich, she saves Choi Soo-young from Girls’ Generation which leads her on a collision course with Byrne’s Chancellor and his tribe. Also, why am I explicitly talking about Soo-young from Girls’ Generation appearing in this film? Because it’s SOOYOUNG. FROM GIRLS’ GENERATION. Only one of the greatest, if not THE, greatest K-pop group of all-time.

But once more, I famously digress.

Now that the story is out of the way, we can talk actual Wick. You know, the action the franchise is famously known for. With director Len Wiseman stepping in to expand the world of John Wick, you may be thinking; Wait. Don’t I know that guy? Yes. Because he directed the first two Underworld films, which are the most beloved from the action franchise. And are also similarly led by female roles. So he should do well here.

And he does! While I wasn’t as much of a fan of the opening fight as others, seeing a sort-of sloppiness and specially crafted choreography to it. It’s when De Armas steps into Eve and her journey of revenge, the choreography equally shifts to representing how she will fight in this world. She can’t win against men who would overpower her. But she would when the world of Wick gives him the means and knowledge to do so. Providing the series with some of the best hits, grabs, and measured use of firearms we’ve not seen since John Wick, it’s a bloody and frenzied version of events stylized for Eve. But don’t worry! She finds time to fall down stairs, because the series just can’t help but throw people down them.

I’ll be frank. My expectations weren’t high for this film. The burnout of John Wick 4 and the way the films kept ramping up and further away from the frenzied realism of the first felt like they were about to Fast & Furious themselves. But Ballerina finds a nice middle ground. Somewhere real, but also unreal. While I’d prefer a further return to the grit and struggle of the fight, thanks to Eve’s overall constitution, it puts us in a place where what these characters do isn’t easy. But they’re skilled enough to do it. And if you give them enough of a push, they’ll create their own myth along the way.