From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review (2025)
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina proves there’s room for at least one more unstoppable killing machine in the John Wick universe.
Perhaps more than just a one-off fun diversion, this entry makes a convincing argument that Ballerina has the potential to be a full-blown spin-off franchise so long as star Ana de Armas is game.
The John Wick franchise has been a rarity in that each installment has earned more than its predecessor. Ballerina shouldn’t be gauged against the unprecedented success of its big brother series but appreciated on its own. And there is plenty to appreciate here.
Ballerina provides something we couldn’t get in the first John Wick — an origin story. The opening act shows Javier (David Castañeda) protecting his young daughter Eve (Victoria Cromte) from a horde of masked invaders led by a shadowy figure, The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne, The Usual Suspects). Javier dies but not before ensuring that Eve is safe.
Eve is taken in by Winston (Ian McShane) and brought to his counterpart in the Ruska Roma organization, The Director (Angelica Houston). Under the watch of Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster), Eve decides she does want to get into the ‘family business’ and undergoes rigorous training to become a protector capable of ruthlessly taking down anyone who targets her charge.
Eve, now played by de Armas, isn’t some bodyguard/assassin prodigy. She puts in the serious time to become an effective killing machine with numerous bruises, cuts and wounds to prove it. The training sequence makes up a considerable portion of the first act, which was the right call as it shows Eve’s steep learning curve and how she cracked a code to batter opponents twice her size.
Screenwriter Shay Hatten, the writer for the last two Wick films, slots Ballerina into larger franchise timeline placing it between Chapter 3: Parabellum and Chapter 4. Thankfully it doesn’t play out in a choppy manner and fits in smoothly.
On one of her earliest missions, Eve encounters an assassin bearing the same mark as the clan that killed her father. With The Director against her learning anything further, Eve heads to the only other place she can get some answers — The Continental. After encountering a few familiar faces, Eve heads to Prague to track down Daniel Pine (Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead), a man who has valuable intel on the group.
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This puts Eve into the crosshairs of the Chancellor’s forces, led by Lena (Catalina Sandino Moreno). Hatten wisely avoids making Ballerina another installment of John Wick — just starring a woman — with some smart deviations from the Wick formula. That’s best evident in the scene when Eve meets up with the Prague weapons dealer Frank (Abraham Popoola, Andor).
To ensure the film isn’t regarded by Wick fans as some distant tie-in, Keanu Reeves dons the black suit once again to play the feared assassin. Reeves’ appearance is tactfully done. It’s more than a one scene cameo yet not quite a full-on supporting role. It’s just the right amount while also adding to the mystique of John Wick.
Director Len Wiseman (Underworld) helps to give Ballerina a unique style by the battlegrounds. An equal amount of the action takes place during the daytime hours in less obvious video game stage settings compared to the Wick films. Ironically, the final act plays out a lot like ‘John Wick But in Resident Evil 4,’ making for one of the more interesting battlefronts of this genre.
Wiseman also stages some of these fights in lavish architectural structures that would make for glamorous tourist attractions if it weren’t for the bullets and explosions going off in the distance.
De Armas is a whirlwind buzzsaw like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill and Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde. It’s a thrill to watch her in action especially since de Armas estimates she did 90 percent of her stunts in the film. There is a real physicality in Ballerina and it’s more engaging watching de Armas battling it out in those sequences instead of some carefully concealed stuntwoman filling in. She’s always been a quality performer, but Ballerina gives de Armas a bright spotlight and she constantly shines.
The fight choreography is mesmerizing. Eve uses anything in her disposal from knives, handguns, shotguns, grenades and flame throwers. John Wick Chapter 4 saw The Boogeyman using a shotgun that fired explosive shells, but the flame thrower sequences are somehow even wilder.
According to numerous reports, Wick series director Chad Stahelski either had to do a few reshoots or reshot a significant part of the film to bring it up to the Wick franchise standards. Consider that mission accomplished.
Ballerina features its own sense of mayhem and chaotic (in a good way) action sequences that never feel like a retread of scenes from any of the four Wick films.
One aspect Ballerina isn’t as strong is the soundtrack, which lacks that alternative rock, electropop and deep house that add an extra element to the action sequences. It’s decent but barely distinct.
The film would also be enhanced by more colorful original characters. Nogi and Frank are good additions, but if Eve encountered more memorable allies and enemies, it could lead to recurring characters in future installments.
Ballerina should really just be the first act in this series. De Armas seems poised to be a player in the action genre and with the full support of the Wick team, hopefully it won’t be long before an encore performance.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Photo Credit: Lionsgate
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