While there’s no escaping that this is ‘John-Wick-lite’, this spin-off manages to rise above the usual revenge movie cliches, offering action sequences that are suitably creative, and an outlandish plot that fits right in with the rest of the John Wick mythology.

Premise: After her father was murdered when she was a child, Eve Maccaro (Ana de Armas) was taken in by the Director (Anjelica Huston) as one of the Ruska Roma, and trained to become a hired killer. But her quest for answers about her father’s murder puts unwittingly her in the middle of an even bigger conflict.

Review:

As a huge fan of the John Wick series, I’ll confess that I was very sceptical when it was announced that they were making a John-Wick-free spin-off movie. I felt a little better knowing that the stunt-team-turned-production-company 87North was still producing the spin-off (given their involvement with the rest of the John Wick series and a host of other hugely enjoyable action films, from Atomic Blonde and Bullet Train to Nobody and Violent Night), and I was also encouraged by the casting of Ana de Armas in the lead role. I’ve been a fan of Ana de Armas since she first broke out in Blade Runner 2049, and she’s already proven her action credentials in the likes of No Time to Die and The Gray Man – but still I wondered if a John Wick movie could work without focusing on John Wick.

So much of what makes the John Wick movies stand out from the rest of the ‘revenge movie’ subgenre is down to Keanu Reeves’ performance as the title character – but there is more to the series’ appeal than just that. Whilst I love all of the John Wick movies, the first John Wick film is probably my least favourite, because it does follow the typical ‘revenge movie’ structure the closest (while still subverting it in several places). My favourite of the series is probably John Wick: Chapter 2, because it expanded the mythology so much – and for me, it’s the mythology of the so-called “World of John Wick” which is what makes it so much fun.

“…the action sequences didn’t disappoint…”

I think that the marketing for Ballerina did a great job of keeping a lot of the movie’s surprises under wraps, because when I watched the film, I realised that almost all of the footage I’d already seen had been from the first half of the film, and I really had no idea where it was going in the second half. The downside to the marketing and trailers keeping the second-half plot developments a secret is that I went into the film with low expectations, because the marketing really made it look like a standard ‘you killed my father, now I’m out for revenge’ plot.

Don’t get me wrong – the central plot thread in Ballerina is very much still more of a standard revenge plot than most of the other John Wick films – but the filmmakers try to take the story in some more interesting and unexpected directions than the trailer would lead you to believe. Eve Macarro’s quest for revenge becomes more of an examination of whether she was always fated to a life of violence, and the plot developments in the second half flesh the series’ mythology out in interesting ways, especially in terms of the relationship that the Ruska Roma (first introduced in John Wick: Chapter 3 as the organisation which raised and trained John Wick) has with the other organisations in this secretive underworld society.

“…Ana de Armas proves she’s more than capable of carrying the movie…”

As well as the plot offering more interesting ideas that I was expecting, the action sequences also didn’t disappoint – which is saying something given how high the rest of the John Wick series has set the bar. Ballerina approaches the fight choreograph in a different way from the previous films – firstly, the first half of the film follows Eve through her training, initiation and early missions, meaning that we see her at her rawest and least confident to begin with. Eve (and Ana de Armas) are fully committed to those early action sequences, but she gets through on sheer determination as much as skill in places. But around the halfway mark, Eve begins to come into her own – and that’s when the action sequences really begin to fly.

Every John Wick movie has at least one (and often several) action moments where you can’t help but wince out loud at what you’ve just seen, quickly followed by a grin at the moment’s dark sense of humour and the inventiveness of the fight choreography. There’s such a moment in Ballerina about halfway through, during an action sequence where a group of armed men pursue an unarmed Eve into a basement storage area, and from that point on I knew I was in safe hands as far as the action sequences were concerned.

“…John Wick presence doesn’t overshadow Eve Macarro’s storyline…”

The second way in which the action in Ballerina is different from the fight sequences in the earlier John Wick movies is that, as Eve learns early on in her training, she’s going to be smaller and less physically powerful than most of her opponents, and so she has to adapt her fighting techniques accordingly. In the first half of the film, Eve struggles with this – but by the time she has a brutal fight with veteran stuntman/actor Daniel Bernhardt, she’s more than capable of holding her own against a bigger and stronger opponent.

This is very much Ana de Armas’ film, and she proves she’s more than capable of carrying the movie, both in terms of its dramatic moments and its action sequences. Ian McShane has a brief cameo as Winston, as does the late great Lance Reddick in his final onscreen appearance following his unexpected death in 2023 – but neither of their appearances feel gratuitous, and instead, they feel like natural consequences of the film being set in the ‘World of John Wick’. (For those who didn’t already know, it’s important to bear in mind that Ballerina is set during and after John Wick: Chapter Three, but before John Wick: Chapter Four, in case you get confused by the continuity).

“…Eve Macarro is a character I would happily see return…”

Anjelica Huston also reprises her role as the Director, the head of the Ruska Roma in New York, and of course, the trailers confirmed that Keanu Reeves also appears as John Wick himself. His brief appearance in the movie playfully toys with the character’s image as a figure that invokes fear and awe even in a world of trained killers, and his presence is just enough to make Ballerina fell like an extension of the John Wick universe, without it overshadowing Eve Macarro’s storyline.

In terms of new characters, Gabriel Byrne makes a welcome return to the big screen as the Chancellor, the main antagonist, with Norman Reedus and Catalina Sandino Moreno appearing in smaller supporting roles. Sharon Duncan-Brewster is also introduced as the member of the Ruska Roma responsible for training the new recruits, including the young Eve.

“…Ana de Armas fully convinces as an action hero in her own right…”

Overall, Ballerina is an entertaining addition to the “World of John Wick”, and Eve Macarro is a character that I would happily see return in the recently announced John Wick: Chapter Five or her own sequel. Ana de Armas fully convinces as an action hero in her own right, and a worthy peer to the always-fully-committed Keanu Reeves when it comes to giving her all for the role.