Film review: ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’

The John Wick films set an unusual new standard in cinema violence; they were brutal yet choreographed like a dance routine and completely ignored most laws of physics and any sense of realism. They took the’ indestructible human fighting machine’ trope to previously unknown levels of silliness with outrageous scenes of Keanu Reeves’ Wick singlehandedly pulverising armies of goons.   Ludicrous as they were, they struck a chord with a large and rabidly loyal audience.  While we might have thought the last John Wick film, Chapter 4 signalled a logical end to the series we would be wrong and fools to expect any logic in a series in which supposed career assassins line up like post office customers waiting to have the snot beaten out of them.  No, the franchise has been resurrected with yet another gleefully gory celebration of violence in Ballerina.

The eponymous dancer is Eve (Ana de Armas) who, in between pirouettes, is a contract killer. The film’s prologue reveals that when she was a youngster she watched her father’s murder and now, years later, after training at what looks like the La Femme Nikita assassin school,  has embarked on a ruthless quest to hunt down the organisation – and its creepy boss The Chancellor (Gabrielle Byrne) – that killed her dad.

There is certainly action aplenty in this film with the final two thirds effectively one long action sequence. While bone-crunching and occasionally gruesome, much of it has the mechanical momentum of a video game which makes it feel a little too artificial. Of course, the astonishingly inept bad guys stumble into obvious traps or dutifully line up to be bashed, impaled, blown up and incinerated; when will the leaders of bad guy corporations invest in some proper training? Some of the action, though, is genuinely dynamic, especially when director Len Wiseman (who directed the Underworld films) pulls the camera back and locks it down so we have a clear view of the combat. There’s also the ludicrous but novel addition of a flame thrower fight in this film.

The John Wick films were always stylishly shot and Ballerina is no exception with some atmospheric cinematography from Romain Lacourbas adding a shadowy veneer to the well-chosen locations including a picturesque, snowbound medieval Austrian village.

Ana de Armas handles the action scenes well but doesn’t exude alot of on-screen charisma or give us any reason to care about Eve.  Admittedly, there aren’t many opportunities for character development when she’s barbequing people with a flame thrower.  It’s no spoiler to say that Keanu Reeves appears in this film (he’s on the poster) and it improves when he’s there as he brings a reflective and soulful quality to the character of John Wick.  There are also appearances from Wick series regulars, the sadly departed Lance Reddick (in his last film) and Ian McShane as well as newcomers to the franchise such as Norman Reedus and Anjelica Huston, all of whom deliver decent performances within the limited scope of the Wick-verse.

With virtual non-stop carnage, this film will satiate the blood lust of hardcore Wick fans but others may find the production line killings become a little tedious.

Nick’s rating: ***

Genre: Drama/ Action.

Classification: MA15+.

Director(s): Len Wiseman.

Release date: 5th June 2025.

Running time: 125 mins.

Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.

 

Related Posts:

tagged with , , , , , ,