"Ballerina" Review: Not Quite John Wick, But Still Packs a Punch

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade or so, chances are that you’re already familiar with the John Wick franchise. What started out as a small, stuntman-driven passion project that almost didn’t make it to release day if it weren’t for Eva Longoria’s last-minute investment has now blossomed into what’s arguably the greatest series of action films ever committed to celluloid. Led by the stoic charisma of leading man Keanu Reeves, the franchise has become the gold standard of what the genre could achieve if it were handled with love and care, and by the right people. 

The series has now produced four smash hit films and a limited streaming series on Prime Video, earning a cumulative box office total of $1.028 billion, including $440 million alone from the latest installment, the perfect masterpiece that is John Wick: Chapter 4. And of course, as with any successful franchise, there’s bound to be the inevitable movie spin-off that will try to earn its keep off of the back of its source material. That brings us to From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, the titular deadly dancer who embarks on her own journey of vengeance deep into the dark underworld that lies under the High Table.

The film is written by screenwriter Shay Hatten (continuing his work on the franchise that started with 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3) after allegedly being inspired by the trailer to John Wick: Chapter 2. From there, the story blossomed into becoming an integral part of Hatten’s script for Chapter 3, where he introduced the Ruska Roma clan and the appearance of Maccarro (albeit portrayed by a different actor at the time) when Wick seeks passage to Morroco while on the run from the High Table after the events of Chapter 2. 

So, a spin-off of one of the most beloved franchises in recent memory. We all know the question you’re asking when you started reading this review: Does it hold a candle to the 4 mainline John Wick films?

The answer: Yeah, mostly. Look, nothing will ever match (much less, top) the grandeur of the 4 mainline John Wick movies (yes, including you Chapter 3, with all your messy world-building shenanigans).

"What made those films work like gangbusters was the monk-like commitment from everyone involved (from director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves all the way down to the many unnamed production assistants) to create a balletic (heh) and dare we say beautiful depiction of cinematic violence that just speaks to something primal and guttural in us all."

The satisfaction of seeing Reeves and the army of 87Eleven stuntpeople engage in a deadly dance is an absolute marvel to watch, and even the most squeamish of audience members can’t help but take notice of the majesty on display when these fine people work their magic on-screen.

In Ballerina, there is a concerted effort to recreate and bring the same kind of magic to life albeit with a different star at the helm, and everyone’s efforts pays off, but just due to the sheer force of will that has been borne out of making 4 of these fine films thus far. Hatten’s best work has always been in writing pulpy, comic book-like situations set in the world of the Continentals pulled straight out of the pages of a graphic novel, but he has been far from perfect - Rebel Moon, anyone?

Ballerina almost falls prey to the same screenwriting sins that have been ascribed to the disastrous Zack Snyder/Netflix joints, with stilted dialogue that can only be forgiven because of the kind of movie it emanates. The film’s pacing also feels a little slapdash, especially in the first act, where you can actually see where Hatten is struggling to get Eve’s journey of revenge rolling after introducing it in a short prologue that features a short cameo from The Umbrella Academy’s David Castañeda.

It was also a baffling choice to name Len Wiseman as the director of the film, what with his history of creating cinematic dreck like the piss-poor 2012 remake of Total Recall, as well as the “films” in the Underworld “franchise”. Like Hatten’s first act struggles, you can see where Wiseman’s “Midas touch” was in full display - scenes feeling out of place from what a John Wick film should be, fight scenes are edited to kingdom come, and certain sequences don’t let the gun-fu breathe and do its work naturally.

However, things get considerably better when the 2nd act kicks in, when all the action starts flowing more and more like how they do in the JW franchise; this is just conjecture, but one can’t help but feel like someone (**cough**CHADSTAHELSKI**cough**) just told Wiseman to get lost and took the reins and went back to making the kind of JW movie we all know and love. Because when said 2nd act kicks in, my god does it kick in.

"All the beautiful violence JW fans know and love are dished out in spades, and there are sequences alluded to in the trailer in the finale that will surely leave old-timers squealing with delight."

How does de Armas step in the lead role of a film set in the world dominated by the spectre of Keanu Reeves? Quite admirably, we have to admit. Ever since she wowed audiences worldwide with her short but very memorably hard-hitting role in 2021’s No Time to Die as Paloma, we’ve always dreamt of what she could do as the lead in her own action flick (no, Ghosted does not and will never, ever count).

From a fan’s meta perspective, we know that whenever someone comes in and says they’ll be in one of these films, we expect that they’ll be putting in the work to really train hard and learn the fight choreography by heart; we’re happy to say that de Armas does just that. Her dedication to the physicality of the role is center stage, and we’re thankful that she just crushes it in that aspect of the role because the less said about her delivery of the already stunted lines of dialogue that she has, the better.

Seriously though, given time and a meatier story for her to sink her teeth into (Possibly in a sequel? Sidequel? An appearance in John Wick: Chapter 5?), we can see her just cementing her place in Action Movie History alongside Reeves in the future.

Ballerina is by no means a perfect film. It’s not even in the top 3 of the John Wick franchise films (in our opinion). But thanks to the unwavering commitment of everyone involved to continue to bring the best possible JW film, a very game lead performance, and a can’t-miss cameo from Mr. Wick himself, it’s one of the more enjoyable action films of 2025 thus far. If you’re a fan of the series, you absolutely cannot miss this.

Cinegeeks Rating : A-