John Wick franchise

Ballerina has all the eye-popping visuals, lavish sets, and spectacularly inventive stuntwork one would expect from a film set in the John Wick universe. It’s a more tightly plotted than recent entries in the franchise, and the globe-trotting locations make narrative sense; it’s not just an excuse for staging a spectacle (not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that).

[WARNING: A couple of significant spoilers below. Do not proceed if you haven’t the seen the film.]

As always, the fight choreography is perfection. Eve is smaller than most of the men she takes on, but that doesn’t make her any less deadly, particularly when she’s more than willing to fight dirty—and pretty skilled at making lethal weapons out of, say, a random pair of ice skates. A fight scene with dueling flame throwers is one for the ages. It’s a genuine shame that Ballerina‘s highly skilled stunt team isn’t eligible for the new Oscar category honoring stunt work.

I do have a couple of minor quibbles. While any appearance of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick is always welcome, it’s not clear why the Ruska Roma would send him to take out Eve when she defies direct orders. This all occurs during the events of Parabellum, and we’ve already seen Wick “punch his ticket” with the Director to escape New York City with a contract on his head. Are we supposed to believe that he found time during all those Parabellum shootouts for a brief stopover in a remote alpine village to engage in a spot of target practice?

The other quibble is more of a missed opportunity. One of the Chancellor’s minions is an assassin named Lena (Catalina Sandino Moreno), who turns out to be Eve’s long-lost sister. But their reunion is short-lived. Once the Chancellor realizes Lena will balk at killing her own sister, he gives the order to take them both out, and Lena dies protecting Eve. I understand that John Wick movies are about the violence, but giving this character and her connection to Eve a bit more time to develop would have given Ballerina a bit of emotional depth. Lena deserved to be more than momentary cannon fodder. On the whole, however, Ballerina is an immensely entertaining and action-packed addition to the franchise.

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is now playing in theaters. The finale leaves things open for a sequel, and I think de Armas (and Eve) deserve the chance to continue their story. Here’s hoping.