From The World of John Wick: Ballerina, a film review

You don’t need to go Frankenstein with Einstein to get the brainpower to understand Hollywood’s unflinching desire to turn every successful film into a franchise, then expand it into a “world” to extrapolate upon that franchise. It’s big bank baby. Take something you know worked well and capitalize on. It’s hedging your bets rather than rolling the dice with new, untested ideas. The first John Wick was very good and did very good at the box office. Four pictures later, and Oscar-nominated Ana de Armas (Blonde) is Eve, the ass-kicking, name-taking, ballerina with bullets protagonist. Director Len Wiseman, mostly known for his work on TV shows, does a solid job. Shay Hatten and Derek Kolstad, who handled writing the previous Wick flicks, return to keep continuity. 

A captivating opening shot greets us with a fleet of assassins slowly poking their heads out of water like crocodiles at daybreak, guns aimed, approaching an estate. Our backstory takes place, sadly bit of a rehashed one, but since it’s in “the world of John Wick” maybe we’re supposed to not care and just enjoy ourselves. As a young girl, Eve sees her hitman-father murdered, which leads her into a life of serious training in the same ways, eventually seeking revenge. Hanna anyone? The kill team was directed by The Chancellor (Gabriel Bryne, Miller’s Crossing), a cold, calculated villain.

Relentless action scenes with attention to detail

Franchise familiars like Winston (Ian McShane) and The Director (Anjelica Huston) appear, as well as the late Lance Reddick reprising his role as Charon. As Matriarch of The Ruska Roma hit cabal, Huston’s Russian accent is abysmal. While undermining her performance, you wonder why a Russian actress couldn’t be cast, or at least someone who can pull off the accentual tone. With tattoo iconography an integral part, adorning the killer clans, the body art looks cheap, too clean, like they were drawn on with Sharpie markers. Eastern Promises and A Place Beyond the Pines could have given lessons on how to make fake tattoos seem real.

 The core of emphasis is the action. Where kicks connect, bones break, and swords slash, the camerawork is finely tuned, and direction is top notch. But that shouldn’t be up for question, simply that showdowns are this franchise’s bread n’ butter. Eve’s first mission takes her to a nightclub scene that’s laughable in presentation apart from the actual combat that ensues. Here she finds her first breadcrumb on the trail of her father’s killers. 

Lackluster plot development and inconsistencies 

Keanu (Reeves) cameo? Better be. If not, the whole thing might have collapsed on itself. But, by the time Wick himself really takes screen time, it’s so late my interest whittled away like popcorn during the trailers. Eve’s hunt brings her to snowy European mountains, the striking white landscape a refreshing contrast to the dark costume design and shots that dominate.

An engaging kitchen fight jumps out as a highlight, stirring up needed laughs, but underwhelming plot developments do little to excite. Things drag though from an offering of this genre, as if the film forgot what type it is or wants to be. Audiences tend to hanker for summer blockbusters, and maybe some vengeful retribution is on your plate. But if the first few installments of the series fed your appetite, you can tiptoe past this ballet.

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