Ballerina

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Let's face it. After you succeed in making four straight-up action masterpieces, no matter what it all leads up to in 'John Wick: Chapter 4,' the whole underworld, conceptually, is something audiences keep wanting to revisit. Not only is 'Ballerina' a spin-off, taking place a little during and a little after the events of 'Chapter 3,' but let's also not forget the Emmy-nominated, 3-part 'Continental' series, which hasn't been quite as praised as any 'John Wick' film, but still lends itself to the idea that we want more.

I'm going to go ahead and say that, at least for me, parts of this film remind me of 'Black Widow,' as well, especially considering its opening, introducing us to a young Eve Macarro (Victoria Comte), daughter to assassin Javier (David Castañeda) and her late mother, an unnamed cultist assassin. The Cult one day raids their home in an attempt to retrieve Eve, whom they consider rightfully theirs, but she manages to escape with her father's help and soon meets with New York Continental owner Winston (Ian McShane), who takes her in.

Twelve years pass as Eve (who grows into Ana de Armas) trains to become a "ballerina," a skilled assassin trained by the Ruska Roma, a group of assassins within the underworld whose New York chapter is led by someone only known as The Director (Anjelica Huston), who we met back in 'Chapter 3.' A skilled fighter further trains her, Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) who teaches her what seems to be this film's mantra: "fight like a girl," which ultimately translates to, not a "woke" thing, but the idea of fighting using strategy over strength.

In time, Eve gets attacked by an assassin whom she identifies as a member of the Cult who attacked her and her father in her past. She discovers she has become a primary target for the head of the Cult, known as The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), who sees Eve as a threat to the Cult's success. Between this and the simple revenge plot we've come to love from the 'John Wick series, Eve takes matters into her own hands, seeking to work her way through the Cult toward the Chancellor, whom she sees as the head of the snake.

I see the 'John Wick series as a damn-near-perfect quadrilogy, at least as far as modern action movies go, each one offering its unique flavour while still offering one solid overarching story. 'Ballerina' wasn't something I came out of saying it was quite as perfect as the 'John Wick' movies were, but it's nothing to be tossed aside either, and well worth the watch, if only to see more of this universe. And for those longing to see Mr. Wick here, he arrives, offers up a bit of action, and gives us the horrendous performance we long for from him.

Let me make something clear before you think I'm being too much of a jerk, though. There's a charm to Keanu's acting, particularly his performance in the 'John Wick' movies. It's almost to the point where, if he's not misbehaving, it doesn't quite feel right. It'd be like watching a Chris Nolan 'Batman' movie and not getting Christian Bale's gravelly voice or any number of 80s slasher movies in which teenagers are portrayed as intelligent. It's part of what makes him John Wick, and his Gun Fu skills are so on point that his acting skills take a back seat anyway.

As far as the primary focus of the film, however, Ana de Armas does an excellent job, making for a promising female action hero on the same level as Charlize Theron, with the potential to become even more, and I'd love to see her take on more of these roles. The film feels very much like a passing of the torch between Wick and Eve, so there will be no surprise to me if there's an eventual 'Ballerina: Chapter 2.' Much like the rest of the 'John Wick' series, I can highly recommend adding this one onto your viewing library, especially if you're already a fan. I've said it before, and it bears repeating: this is still a damn-near-flawless franchise.

4/5

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