Film Review: From the World of John Wick: Ballerina

Welcome back to the blog readers. You all know how much I love the John Wick (2014-) series of films. You may even remember that I ranked Chapter 4 (2023) as my third favorite film of 2023. But hearing that we were going to be getting a spinoff involving a new character definitely had me intrigued, but you knew I would be seated regardless. What would I think about the newest John Wick film that barely features John Wick at all? Stick around to find out.

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina was directed by Len Wiseman from a script by Shay Hatten, based on characters created by Derek Kolstad. The film stars Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick in his final film role, Norman Reedus, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ian McShane, and Keanu Reeves. In the film, ballerina-turned-assassin Eve Macarro joins the Ruska Roma to get revenge on the conspirators who killed her father in her youth.

Being one of my most anticipated films of 2024, I was extremely bummed when this film got pushed into this year, but was a bit relieved when Chad Stahelski revealed it was to make it live up to the standard he had set for us with the mainline John Wick projects. I am glad that extra TLC was given to this film, although this is the worst film of the year. How can you use a sword and not cut someone's head clean off their body? All jokes aside, this film was awesome. Ana de Armas is a blossoming action star, and the action is incredible, but the story is kind of cookie-cutter.

We gotta talk about it. Ana de Armas has never really gotten the true love she deserves because she has proven herself a versatile actor thus far. Appearing in films like Knives Out (2019), Knock Knock (2015) and Blonde (2022) (in which she got an Oscar nomination), she has never really branched out to action save for a brief role in No Time to Die (2021). But this film solidifies what should be gospel at this point: Ana de Armas was born to be an action star. The Gray Man (2022) aside, de Armas absolutely ruled as the ballerina-turned-assassin Eve Macarro. The silent rage that builds inside that she can play so well is so addicting to watch, and her performing her own stunts only adds to the authorship she brings to the role. Please, please, PLEASE bring her back in some way or form Chad.

Now I need to talk about the action of the film because my boy Chad knows how to level up in terms of action. Chapter 4 is one of my favorite action films because not only does it expand on what the series has done in the past, but giving new things for us to salivate over, like 3 action sequences that exceed thirty minutes each. But this film is different as well, in that 75% of the film is action sequences. And normally I do not like the punchy-punchy, stabby-stabby and shooty-shooty just for the sake of it. But the John Wick universe is different in that gun-fu is an art in of itself. Oh, and killing people with kitchen plates and ice skates. That too.

Next up, I want to talk about the structure of the film, and that has to do with how the filmmakers knew not to insult the audience. The first point is this: the beginning of the film sees Sharon Duncan-Brewster's character telling Eve to change the terms of the contest if she wants to win because she will never be stronger or tougher than her opponent. And that is something they give us throughout the film. She is not afraid to play dirty and do whatever it takes to win. And the other point is that this film remembers the rules of the John Wick universe: no business on Continental grounds, and a marker/token/coin must be honored no matter what. Eve is spared at the Prague Continental because she did not conduct official business on the grounds of the hotel. And every token she presented to someone was honored. I love that.

And finally, I want to end the positives by talking about something that really was not a problem for me, but was a concern for some other people. That issue is John Wick not being treated like the Baba Yaga that he was in the first film. While I get that John striking fear in the hearts of even the most heartless criminals worked for the first film, I thought that shtick would get old so that is why it kind of faded in the balance. But this film brings it back. When the main villain is told that he should evacuate, he snaps back that nobody has bailed on their people. But when told they lost control of John Wick, they got their asses out of there real quick. Even one of the low-level henchmen refused to go in the same room that Wick was in, even though his death came literally three seconds later. And when Wick faced off against Eve, he was treated like Malenia in Elden Ring (2022): basically unbeatable.

And the final point I want to make is in regards to the script of this film. With the John Wick films, you will never get a screenplay akin to Casablanca (1943) or Citizen Kane (1941). What you should look for is something that enriches and expands the already-built world that these characters reside in while giving us something new. I personally think the screenplay is a bit weak for this film. Some of the things that happen story-wise feel a bit convenient like the stuff with the Chancellor and the stuff in Prague. It makes sense that this is not as tight, because Derek Kolstad was not involved in the script in any way, even though the WGA credits Rebecca Angelo, Lauren Schuker Blum, Emerald Fennell, Michael Finch and director Len Wiseman with "additional literary material (not on screen).

In conclusion, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is not completely hampered by a convenient script but excels in almost every other department to give us a rousing good time at the movies. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.