Ballerina is from the John Wick franchise, in fact, the events of this movie happen between John Wick: Parabellum and John Wick 4.
I really enjoyed John Wick 4, it’s still in my top five action movies of all time. But I wasn’t excited about Ballerina because it’s a part of John Wick franchise. I was excited because of Len Wiseman, the director.
He previously directed Underworld: Evolution, which is an underrated creature-feature horror movie, and Die Hard 4, which has some of the best action sequences in that franchise. So, an experienced director working in a fan-favourite action franchise that’s consistently delivered.
But does this spin-off work, or is it the classic Hollywood move of: “This movie worked with an older male actor, why don’t we get a younger female character to keep milking the franchise”?
Basics
From the World ofJohn Wick: Ballerina is a 2025 American action thriller directed by Len Wiseman and written by Shay Hatten. It stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a ballerina trained as an assassin by the Ruska Roma.
The cast also includes Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus. Returning characters include Anjelica Huston, Lance Reddick (in his last screen appearance), Ian McShane, and Keanu Reeves.
Synopsis
The film follows Eve as she hunts down the people who murdered her father, a group, more of a cult actually. Along the way, she crosses paths with familiar characters like John Wick and Winston, navigating the assassin world, betrayals, and plenty of action.
What works
Let’s get it out of the way; Is Keanu Reeves in the film? Yes. Is it just a pointless cameo to pull in John Wick fans? Well, yes and no. He’s in it more than you’d expect, and he plays an interesting role, but at some point, his presence almost overshadows everyone else.
The John Wick franchise is all about action, and even though this has a long setup, you still get the action we expect, especially in the third act.
The fight scenes are well-choreographed, blending familiar Wick-style moves with brutal hand-to-hand combat, stylish gunplay, and visually cool fight sequences that show off Eve’s skills.
Personally, I loved the explosions, especially the creative use of grenades, it stands out and gives the movie a unique touch. Every John Wick movie has a standout fight scene, and here it’s the flamethrower scene. I genuinely wondered how they even shot that. There’s also a cool car scene and a gift shop fight, but the third act is where it all comes together.
Ana de Armas is great as Eve Macarro. She was perfectly cast, especially after her short stint in No Time to Die. Her movement during action scenes is well executed and believable, you can tell she does many of her own stunts, which adds a sense of authenticity to the character. I also appreciated that she was given a proper backstory.
Ballerina expands the Ruska Roma, the assassin group introduced in John Wick 3. We get a glimpse into the ballerina world, the brutal training, rituals, and hierarchy, which shape Eve’s development. I liked that the movie tries to show that Eve is her own person, not a female John Wick. You can even see it in her fighting style.
On a technical side, as expected, the cinematography is good, but it doesn’t come anywhere close to John Wick 4. That’s not to say it doesn’t look nice, it shot very well. Let’s just say the cinematography doesn’t overshadow the action and the characters.
The music and soundtrack are utilised appropriately depending on where we are in the story. Explosions and gunshots sound great.
I was really surprised to see, spoiler alert, Lance Reddick. I thought his last film was John Wick 4.
Gripes
This is a simple revenge story on paper; a daughter out to avenge her father. But my goodness, they found a way to make it unnecessarily complex. Besides the revenge story, there’s a random “family” character who pops up and the cult. By trying to give all these people depth, the writers end up making the story feel like a drag.
This could have been as simple as John Wick 1. Ask any action fan, they can easily tell you what John Wick was about. But this? It’s hard to explain.
The pacing could also have been better. You get action, but there are slow pockets that slow down the movie.
The other issue is John Wick, I loved his presence in the film. I mean, having seen him in the trailers, I was just waiting for him to show up, almost ignoring everything else.
At the end of it all I thought maybe it would’ve worked better if the character had been just implied and not explicitly presented.
Let the whole movie lean on Eve, Ana de Armas' performance was enough. And finally, the title. It’s too long. Imagine telling someone, “I watched From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.”
Conclusion
If you compare this to the other John Wick films, it’s the weakest. But as a Len Wiseman movie, it’s one of his best.
The story is overly complicated and the pacing drags, but Ana de Armas' performance, the action, especially the grenades, make it worth experiencing in the theatres. It’s an entertaining popcorn movie.
