It seems almost inevitable that Ana de Armas would make it into the John Wick franchise. Having worked with Keanu Reeves in multiple films since 2015’s Knock Knock, she has great chemistry with him on camera. De Armas has also proven she can handle action both with 2021’s No Time to Die and 2023’s Ghosted, with the latter also boasting a bit of comedy. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (or just Ballerina for the sake of this writing) puts Ana in the mix of all the madness as Eve Maccaro. While it doesn’t have the tightest story in the world when compared to the rest of the John Wick saga, Ballerina does hold its own at least as a showcase for the stunt work. If you enjoyed Atomic Blonde or any of the Underworld films, you really won’t have any problems here.
The story for Ballerina takes place during the events of John Wick 3 – Parabellum. As a child, when Eve loses her father to a crew of armed men sporting a brand on their wrists, she is taken in by The Continental’s Winston (Ian McShane). Winston introduces her to the tribe of killers known as the Ruska Roma, lead by The Director (Anjelica Houston), who train her to become like them. Those familiar with the John Wick franchise will recall that the Ruska Roma was John’s tribe before some action caused a split between him and them.
In addition to her pointe practices (which look painful), she’s trained with knives, guns and other tactics. Unlike the assassins that normally frequent The Continental, the Ruska Roma aren’t fully ruthless and can be a force of good. After handling various tests, she discovers a clue leading to the people who killed her father and the man who leads them (ironically played by Point of No Return’s’ Gabriel Byrne, given the film moves in similar circles). Can Eve get her vengeance in the shadow of the legendary Baba Yaga?
While Eve’s story is a still a tale of vengeance as much as Wick’s, there are two distinct differences. As taught by her trainer Nogi (Sharon Duncan Brewster, Dune: Part One), being a girl has some merits and flaws. She might not have the strength to go toe to toe with some of her male opponents (and try telling Ana this, she throws herself deep into the stuntwork), she can move for weakpoints and cheat her way though to victory. “Fight like a girl” becomes the motto. The other difference is that Eve has to work within both the rules of the Ballerinas as well as those the High Table puts on their Hotels. I thought that was an interesting touch to things.
With those stunts, I really would like to know if Ana or any of the stunt team were hurt in any way making this film. Eve goes through a lot and doesn’t have that protective Armani suit of Wick’s. Into walls, over dressers, through glass and even fire, but she keeps getting up and giving that damage right back to her targets. I hope this becomes a contender for the Academy’s new award for stunts. It’s an easy lock for a Nomination.
Casting-wise, you’ll see some familiar faces. Winston and Charon (the late Lance Reddick) are both on hand, as well as stuntman/actor Daniel Bernhardt (The Matrix Reloaded, Nobody, that awesome “ronny/lily’ episode of HBO’s Barry). Some new faces include Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) and Anne Parillaud (Innocent Blood, La Femme Nikita).
Len Wiseman hasn’t directed a feature film since 2012’s Total Recall, but watching Ballerina you really couldn’t tell. Some of the locales do look like they were borrowed from Wiseman’s Underworld films, but that actually works in Ballerina‘s favor. The film flows well from scene to scene and the action is visible enough that there’s little to miss. There are very few lulls in the action. Though the film was written by both Derek Kolstad and Shay Hatten, who both previously worked on pretty much the entire Wick Franchise along with Nobody, it’s a different flavor to things. You won’t any any major info on the High Table and how all that works, though. This more of a contained story that flutters through the rest of the universe.
I only had one major problem with Ballerina, which was the way in which they chose to cameo Keanu Reeves as John Wick. Unless I’m wrong, I think the story makes a mistake in the John Wick timeline at some point by bringing Wick and Eve face to face (and the trailers already alluded to this). Their meeting appears to occur after Wick’s branding and ex-communication from the Ruska Roma (“You can never come back.”, she told him in John Wick 3), so the events leading up to the meeting didn’t entirely make sense to me (though it was wonderful to watch). It doesn’t mar the film, it’s still enjoyable. It’s just that tiny question that digs in the back of your skull like “If Old Biff gave young Biff the Almanac, and Young Biff changed the future, how did Old Biff exist long enough to return the DeLorean back to a 2015 timeline that shouldn’t exist anymore?” – a question I still ask every now and then.
Overall, Ballerina is a pretty good addition to the John Wick franchise. Ana de Armas gives it her all and deserves all the kudos for that work she puts in. Here’s hoping that we get a bit more of her action (and of that universe) down the road.
Through the Shattered Lens 