Ballerina

Ballerina checks every box of a John Wick film! It just gives you what you want from these movies - just the coolest stuff every 5 minutes, even after I assumed the John Wick movies left everything on the table with regards to inventive action scenes. It's impressive how John Wick writers keep finding new ways to do combat scenes. Ana de Armas kicks ass in a variety of violent and creative action sequences - grenades, flame-throwers, you name it! All movies should write action like this! Instead of relying on the same bang-bang-bang routine, the filmmakers constantly search for fresh angles - be it through location, weaponry, or method. That's a big reason why John Wick continues to offer the best gunplay in Hollywood.

So yes, Ballerina absolutely delivers on the action, and I had a blast with the fight scenes. But, like most of the Wick films, the story falls short. The revenge-driven plot is serviceable but basic, with flat characters who lack compelling motivations, and a villain who ultimately disappoints. It's the action - not the narrative - that keeps the film alive.

At a certain point, I had to stop watching it critically. Because it's so dumb, and yet so entertaining. I fully admit this is not an ideal situation, and normally I'd be very against this. On many occasions, after giving a negative review to something, someone will say to me, "Oh, just turn your brain off and enjoy it." To that, my response is always, "Well, if it was actually good, I shouldn't have to." Ballerina, however, is somehow both not good and also incredibly good at the same time. It's a mostly brainless, cold, cookie-cutter revenge movie that has so much unfathomable yet enjoyable action in it that the two are completely at odds. How can a film this hollow have action this entertaining? Why is such care devoted to these sequences when the story and emotion are so surface-level? It's bizarre and a little confusing. And yet, without realizing it, I did exactly what I always say not to do - I shut my brain off and had fun. I'm not surprised. I've had to do the same with the other Wick films, and Ballerina fits right in. And, like those films, I still came out leaning positive in the end.

Ana de Armas is a force of nature here, bringing intense physicality and a surprising vulnerability to this scrappy revenge tale. She ensures her character feels just as iconic as John Wick himself. Keanu Reeves has a much larger role than expected, but I appreciated that Wick never fully overtook the film - even if his presence does feel a bit like fan service. That said, I really missed Dan Laustsen's luminous cinematography from the earlier films. The visual identity takes a hit here. Still, the fact that Ballerina works as well as it does is a testament to the foundation that Chad Stahelski and Reeves have built and continue to shape. But when the bar is set this high, it's hard not to notice that this doesn't quite measure up. Even so, this is still everything you could want from a summer blockbuster. It's tons of fun and packed with killer set pieces.

Get ready for plenty of fighting and gunfight scenes when you take your seat. Nearly three-quarters of the film consists of this type of scene. While the quality of these scenes is slightly below that of the latest John Wick movies, they are still quite enjoyable. It looks like Ana de Armas must have worked very hard to be able to perform in these scenes. Her efforts deserve respect.

The plot of the movie is extremely simple. Perhaps if it had been slightly deeper and more interesting, the movie would have been better.

Another criticism is that our 50-55 kg main character takes extremely heavy blows from men but recovers in just a few seconds. This wasn't believable or realistic. Similarly, our main character is too emotional to be a death angel.

The grenade scenes were over-the-top and even absurd, but the flamethrower scene was the most entertaining.

The duration of John Wick's scenes may exceed your expectations, but that's a good thing, It was nice to see him.

In summary, if you've watched and enjoyed the John Wick movies, you should watch Ballerina. I hope there will be a sequel.

Ballerina attempts to spin a new chapter within the John Wick universe, following Eve (Ana de Armas), a young woman whose life is defined by tragedy and vengeance. At eleven, Eve watches her father die in a staged fight that feels more like a rehearsal than a life-or-death struggle, leaving her with both trauma and motivation. Twelve years later, she resurfaces as a highly trained assassin under the guidance of The Director.

On paper, this premise could have worked. Stories of young women trained from childhood to become killers have been told effectively before; think Hanna (2011), La Femme Nikita (1990), Anna (2019), Colombiana (2011), or even Léon: The Professional (1994). Those films succeeded either because of their emotional depth (Léon), their fresh energy (Hanna), or their stylistic uniqueness (Nikita). Unfortunately, Ballerina fails to carve out its own identity.

The film's biggest issue lies in its credibility. By the time we see Eve as an adult, she's supposed to be 23, but Ana de Armas, at 37, struggles to convince us of that. This isn't simply about age; it's about believability. Keanu Reeves in John Wick embodies his role completely, making every fight feel authentic and earned. Ana de Armas, by contrast, looks stunning and moves competently, but never truly inhabits Eve. Her performance feels more like an imitation of action heroines who came before her rather than a character she owns. By comparison, Ruby Rose's mute assassin in John Wick: Chapter 2, though a much smaller role, was distinctive, memorable and fresh.

The film's title also feels misused. Ballerina promises a thematic or symbolic connection between Eve's training as a dancer and her deadly precision as an assassin. Instead, the ballet element is barely touched upon. Once her backstory is out of the way, the title becomes irrelevant; she's simply Eve, another killer on a revenge mission. It's a missed opportunity that could have distinguished the film stylistically, much like Black Swan or even Hanna used physical discipline and art as metaphors for transformation and control.

Supporting roles don't elevate the film either. Gabriel Byrne delivers exactly the kind of performance we've seen from him dozens of times before, and his demise is handled with such predictability that even his character should have seen it coming. Keanu Reeves pops up briefly as John Wick, a welcome cameo, though the continued use of the nickname "Baba Yaga" feels increasingly awkward. In Russian folklore, Baba Yaga is an old witch, which hardly fits Wick's persona; "Boogeyman" would have been far more accurate.

Stylistically, Ballerina leans heavily on The Matrix-style training sequences (with Nogi serving as a Morpheus stand-in) and John Wick, like gun-fu choreography. But unlike John Wick, which elevated fight scenes into something operatic, here the action feels staged, repetitive, and strangely lifeless.

In the end, Ballerina is competent but uninspired. It doesn't push the genre forward or give Ana de Armas the kind of breakout action role she might have been hoping for. Instead, it lands somewhere between imitation and missed opportunity; a derivative echo of much better films.

It's Wickniverse, you're gonna watch it regardless. Just grab a popcorn and suspend your disbelief and enjoy another round of John Wick

If we start with plotholes, inconsistency and logical mindboggleness we'd ended up ruining all the fun.

That's all

But if you need to know I think it's meh. Could have been done better. I get it it's Wickniverse, but not a scratch, not a bruise on Eve, she's what? 5 feet something skinny balerina body? No way she could handle a full blown kick and hits and barely broke a bone. Even her makeup... Not even a single dirt on her pretty face. Not to mention she's mowing everyone down as if she's Jane Wick... I get it she's highly trained by she make those goons looks like cardboard target in some training yard. By the 3rd quarter I'm getting bored. I just think the action is too much and entering Fast Furious level of absurdity, even for Wickniverse.

But then again... We'll be watching it. It's just a solid 7 leave your brain out and enjoy Ana.. i mean... Eve... I mean... Whatever.

Going to keep this short. While I loved John Wick 1-4, all for different reasons, this one was just one word: boring and repetitive. I am not sure what they were trying to do with this movie. First, there was a weak and very predictable storyline to this movie. Second, the main character just isn't as believable or has the charisma as Keanu / John Wick. There is no 'it' factor. I fell asleep multiple times in this movie whereas in John Wick 4, at almost 3 hours, I was on the edge of my seat refusing to go to the bathroom. Third, there is something about the lighting of many of the fight scenes. They just don't pop. They don't give you the ooh factor. They just seem redundant as if they ran out of ideas. Lastly, this just feels like they are going to run this franchise into the ground. Keanu might actually be portraying himself in real life if he keeps signing onto these movies. He just can't get out if you know what I mean.