From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina Movie Review (2025)
From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina is chock full of action, fun fight sequences, and gorgeous cinematography, but it lacks the humor and charm of the original series.
Oh, John Wick, how I love thee. John Wick films are fun because they are silly and funny with incredible cinematography and fight sequences. There are innovative ideas with combat (i.e. death by pencil) and it all comes down to the basic premise that some guys killed his dog. That is the drama that set off the next four movies. But now, in the same world, we have Ballerina.
Ballerina is about Eve, a young girl who witnessed her father be hunted and killed, all while trying to keep her safe for some added unknown reason. She is taken into one of the mob-like “families” in the world of John Wick and trained to both protect targets and assassinate her enemies, but she also has a secret burning desire to find the people who killed her father and take them out as well.
I have very complicated feelings about this movie. On the one hand, there are a couple of excellent fight sequences (some of which she struggles with because she is training, which is a new slant), a few creative new methods of combat (death by ice skates anyone?), and some beautiful cinematography.
On the other hand, I was kind of bored. The first act – where you watch Eve train and become a member of the family – has potential. She has deep pain and incredible drive, but since you don’t know much about her, I found it difficult to get attached.
The second act was a major lull for me. There is fighting, but so little story that I became less and less interested in why it was happening. They could have easily cut ½ an hour here.
The third act was the highlight, with the best of the fight sequences and interesting weapon choices, but because I had mostly checked out (although I kept trying to get back in), I could only appreciate it artistically and not from an “I’m interested and that was awesome” standpoint. That said, a few of these moments were objectively incredible choices for combat and cinematography.
One of the things that John Wick always has going for it is that it is funny, charming, and has very little dialogue. This movie lacks all of that. There is a bit of humor here and there, but the acting is so poor (sorry Keanu – I love you and I’m mad at myself for saying it, but it’s true) and there is so much talking, it loses any vibe that it could have had from the staple series.
Ana de Armas is petite and athletic, which adds an interesting dynamic for how she could overpower a huge man (although being told to “fight like a girl” left me with mixed emotions), but she does not stand out for her acting here. Just the opposite. She is wooden and somewhat robotic, which is another reason that less dialogue is more in this series.
The real gift of this movie, though, other than some interesting choices in combat and camera work, is that this was Lance Reddick’s last film. He is a great loss to cinema and I’m glad that I got to see him here.
Some people will love this film, so if storyline, world building, and any depth of character aren’t what you’re looking for, this could be your movie. I’m going to go and watch John Wick again instead.
Runtime: 125 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes, if you want to continue the series or love original fight sequences. Otherwise, maybe not
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 2.75/5 Stars
Available: Currently in theaters
