From the World of John Wick: Ballerina

Ballerina Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Ana De Armas, Keanu Reeves, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ian McShane

Director: Len Wiseman

What’s Good: Ana De Armas’ intense act, Keanu Reeves’ cameo, action sequences, cinematography.

What’s Bad: There could have been more depth into the trauma and character arc of Ana De Armas’ Eve Macarro, which shapes up her hunger for vengeance, the camaraderie between Eve and John Wick could have been explored more.

Loo Break: This one is too engaging to take one in the middle.

Watch or Not?: It is a treat for all the John Wick fans out there plus a much needed addition in the women-centric action movie genre.

Language: English

Available On: Theatrical Release

Runtime: 125 Minutes

User Rating:

Ballerina makes me truly jocular for one big reason. After Charlie’s Angels and Kill Bill, this Ana De Armas starrer strives to offer you a surreal experience of a refinely executed woman-led Hollywood action flick. The movie being a part of the John Wick universe, of course, is an added bonus but the very heart of the film lies in the strength and fury of its female protagonist and we were absolutely seated for the same.

The movie Ballerina revolves around Eve Macarro (Ana De Armas) whose father was killed by an assassin cult which he and his wife were initially a part of when she was just a child. After she survives the attack that killed her father, she is taken by New York Continental Hotel owner Winston Scott (Ian McShane) to join a ballerina theatre cum assassin training ground Ruska Roma. After she is trained as a badass and fierce assassin, fate leads her to the cult that was responsible for the murder of her father. She soon embarks on a suicide mission to hunt down the chancellor of the cult (Gabriel Byrne), which leads her to the village of Hallstatt where each citizen is a member of the cult and is hungry for her blood.

Ballerina Movie Review: Script Analysis

Director Len Wiseman wastes no time in paving the way for Eve Macarro’s revenge. She has witnessed a trauma which continues to haunt her and she not only wants vengeance from the cult who killed her father but also wishes to prevent any other innocent child from being scarred like her. The screenplay blends in a slick manner from Eve’s intense training at the Ruska Roma, wherein she is taught to ‘fight like a girl’ while being overpowered by men twice her size, to finally getting a direction towards her mission for vengeance.

A reunion of Eve with a long-lost family member also forms one of the emotionally high-octane moments of the film. The ‘Swan Lake’ theme is beautifully used to describe her traumatic childhood and memories of her father. However, a little more intricacy in Eve’s dark past and how she channels that pain and trauma in her revenge story would have further accentuated her character arc. We also missed some more powerful camaraderie between her and Keanu Reeves’ John Wick.

Ballerina Movie Review: Star Performance

Ana De Armas, take a bow! The actress proved that she is much beyond the glamor roles with Ballerina. She is the sole guiding anchor of this ship and especially is a force to be reckoned with during the action sequences. Watch out especially for the climax sequence wherein the actress performs the majority of the scenes with a fire gun. She also impresses in the emotionally high-octane sequences, which brings out the vulnerability, pain and pathos in her character. This one totally belongs to her!

Keanu Reeves gives us the classic John Wick experience and there is never a dull moment (cheers and whistles instead) whenever he appears on the screen. Ian McShane, Gabriel Byrne and Anjelica Huston especially make a profound impact when it comes to the supporting star cast. We wish the screentime and the writing for the characters of Norman Reedus, Catalina Sandino Moreno and the late Lance Reddick were more nuanced.