“Ballerina” Sticks the Landing

Ballerina (Len Wiseman, 2025) 3½ out of 5 stars

After her scene-stealing turn as rookie agent Paloma in No Time to Die, Ana de Armas returns to the action genre with Ballerina, the first theatrical spinoff of the John Wick franchise. Set in between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, the story follows young orphan Eve Macarro as she trains to become an assassin and avenge her murdered family. Long-time John Wick fans will be delighted to hear that director Len Wiseman strikes the series’ trademark balance between violence and absurdity. It may occasionally fall into some old assassin-movie tropes, but Ballerina more than delivers on the thrills.

The first thing to mention is Ana de Armas’ performance as Eve. She is more than capable as an action lead, with several set pieces on par with the original four films. As Eve’s combat instructor Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Enola Holmes 2) tells her, she will always be smaller and weaker, so she must change the terms of combat. De Armas gets to be animalistic here as she shoots, stabs, and incinerates everything in her path.

As for the rest of Ballerina, it is a perfectly entertaining entry into the Wickian universe. The camerawork and editing are slick, revealing the action instead of cutting around it. Not to mention the trademark neon purple and blue color palette. While it helps if the viewer is already familiar with the wider series mythology (secret societies, gold coins, strict rules), Ballerina is a largely standalone story.

After her father’s murder, Eve is taken in by Winston (Ian McShane, returning to the franchise), manager of the New York Continental Hotel for assassins. Winston introduces Eve to her father’s people: the Ruska Roma, a group of Belarusian tribes seen in Chapter 3 who shape young people into accomplished dancers and killers. Their leader, known only as the Director (Anjelica Huston, also returning), becomes Eve’s mentor figure/surrogate mother. While Eve and Wick share a desire for vengeance, his story is one of simple motivation while her story is full of twists and turns.

Much is made of the mystery surrounding Eve’s parents and why they were murdered, with Eve travelling across the world to find answers. What she learns is not entirely surprising, but fun to watch. Eve even finds herself face to face with a returning Keanu Reeves, but do not expect him to be on screen too long. This is still Ana de Armas’ movie, and his presence does not overshadow her.

Ballerina is a solid action film with a winning lead performance and a killer stunt department. Everyone involved worked hard to ensure this met the franchise’s standard of quality, and I am happy to say they succeeded. While the story is fairly simple, it gets the job done and allows us to see some fantastic stunt work. I highly recommend enjoying this in a theater.

George W. Campbell

George W. Campbell is a director/screenwriter/editor from Bowie, Maryland, whose films focus on themes of family and personal relationships. As a Nicaraguan-American filmmaker, he aims to highlight specific parts of his culture and personal experiences (songs, dances, foods, and language).