BALLERINA Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Len Wiseman
Stars: Ana de Armas, Gabriel Byrne, Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, Norman Reedus, Catalina Sandino Moreno, David Castadena, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Victoria Comte, Abraham Popoola, Robert Maaser.
From the world of John Wick comes this female centric action film, a spin-off which is supposedly set between John Wick 3: Parabellum and John Wick 4 in the timeline of the series.
The film centres on Eve Maccaro (Ana de Armas, from the Bond film No Time To Die, etc) a rogue assassin trained in the lethal arts from childhood by the Ruska Roma sect, a New York based organisation of ballerina assassins. As a young girl she watched as her father Javier (David Castaneda) was killed by a rival sect of assassins under the control of the mysterious Chancellor (a stony Gabriel Byrne). She is taken under the wing of Winston (Ian McShane), the owner of the Continental Hotel (a safe haven for assassins), and delivered to The Director of Ruska Roma (Anjelica Huston, reprising her role from John Wick 3), who runs a ballet school and a facility to train assassins.
Having learned deadly skills as a kikimora assassin under her tutelage she sets out to avenge her father’s death which creates a rift between the rival Ruska Roma and the cult who have enjoyed an uneasy truce for several years. The trail of bodies leads Eve to Hallstatt, a remote Alpine village that is home to a group of retired assassins. The Director sends the taciturn and lethally efficient Wick to take out Eve, but instead he sympathises with her plight and decides to step back and keep an eye on things.
The plot is fairly thin, and it is mainly an excuse to deliver some bruising and spectacular stunt work and fight choreography, a high body count, stylishly staged gunfights, and some inventively staged action scenes which have become a hallmark of the series. Some of the violence is quite brutal, and the climactic extended fight involves creative use of ice skates, hand grenades and flamethrowers to take down the villains. The action has been superbly shot by cinematographer Roman Lacourbas (Taken 2, etc) whose camera movement perfectly matches the hyper energetic pace of the film.
The script comes from Shay Hatten (who wrote John Wick 4) and series regular scribe Derek Kolstad and adheres fairly closely to the template of the series. Although the fifth film in the series, Ballerina was originally conceived as a stand-alone film and not intended as part of the John Wick universe, but it evolved during the course of several rewrites since 2017. Journeyman director Len Wiseman (a couple of the Underworld films, etc) adopts a muscular approach to the staging of the action scenes. And although Wiseman is credited as director here, apparently much of the film’s action scenes were reshot by original director Chad Stahelski.
De Armas has a strong screen presence and acquits herself well with the physically demanding role, reminding us of some of those other recent kick-ass female heroines such as Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde, etc. Keanu Reeves briefly reprises his role as Wick here mainly to waste lots of bad guys and appease the fans of the series. Norman Reedus (from the tv series The Walking Dead) plays Daniel Pine, a former member of the cult who is trying to free his daughter from their grip. The film also marks the final screen appearance of the late Lance Reddick who reprises his role as Charon, the quietly spoken concierge of the Continental Hotel. Ian McShane also reprises his role as Winston. Byrne brings an air of menace to his role as the Chancellor.
While undoubtedly formulaic Ballerina delivers plenty of action to satisfy fans of the John Wick series. And if it proves a success at the box office, we could see a future sequel.
★★★☆
