There’s always a risk when you expand a universe–a fact that has sparked social media debate over the limits of the MCU–but Ballerina was the true test of whether this cosmos can remain on our screens.
For starters, as I overexplained to my wife on the evening of the viewing, John Wick suffers from a marathon perspective. I, for one, could not consume all these action movies in one day, no matter how exhilarating they are, due to the repetitive nature of the plot, which mechanically cyclically leads to action scenes.
Judging Ballerina as a Standalone Experience
This means, from a critical perspective, Ballerina should be judged based on a single viewing and compared to the quality of the “World of John Wick”, rather than how it fits into a linear journey. How does the unique character blend into a world already established, and does she have a future?
Ballerina is wonderfully entertaining–that was one of the first thoughts that came to my mind during a chaotic, but mind-pleasing second act that involves the humming of a nightclub and rubber bullets–and it was from here that I concluded that Len Wiseman, the director, has done a superb job in establishing a spin-off.
We have the spin-off series, The Continental, of course–and elements of that series are confined within the narrative structure of Ballerina–and it’s worth mentioning that the miniseries helps contextually, but this film was a risk. It depended on trusted audiences to leave their homes and care.
Ana de Armas is a Perfect Fit
Ana de Armas plays Eve Macarro, the daughter of Javier, a Kikimora of the Ruska Roma, who is desperate to leave a Cult of killers to distance his daugther away from that life–the Cult kills Javier, leading to Eve being trained in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma, eventually taking on an army of killers as she seeks revenge for those responsible for the death of her father.
This is how The Continental is tied in, and the “World of John Wick” is established–a young innocent girl, trained to be a non-compromising ballerina and deadly assassin at the same time–that’s the hook, and a bloody good one at that.
I would be lying if I did not admit that I was sceptical of Ana de Armas leading at first–but then again, this is the same experienced actress who compelled viewers in No Time to Die, Blade Runner 2049, and Blonde (and let’s not talk about the deeply personal film Deep Waters with ex Ben Affleck, that was silently released on streaming–awkward).
Her versatility has often led her to flirt with action movies, but being the action figure in a popular universe was interesting, to say the least. Luckily, Ana is the perfect mould for Eve. She has enough balance between innocence and aggression in her expression to be a convincing, deadly assassin, and a deceptive one at that–Bond girl turned assassin–now that’s a line.
Photo: Lionsgate
Why the World of John Wick Still Matters
And then there’s the question of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick himself, and whether the script allows him to be included, without unintentionally making it a John Wick film, which would have been a tempting dangling carrot for the writers. For those who wanted it to be an unintentional John Wick film, they will be disappointed that he only appears in two key moments in the movie, the beginning and the end, both providing an aid to the character development of Eve.
Honestly, I’m glad that this is a “World of John Wick” film rather than another excuse to make a John Wick film, because Ballerina works better by establishing Eve, a traumatised child-turned-adult-turned-assassin with little purpose in the world apart from the devices presented to her, involving a lot of bloodshed.
It helps that “gun fu,” a blend of martial arts, including Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, tactical gun techniques, and standing Judo is absolutely a joy to watch, especially on the big-screen–from a dopamine perspective, you can barely taste the popcorn hit your tongue due to your brain lavished in the plethora of jigsaw-smooth sequences that are appealing to basic human chemicals.
What I’m trying to say is that Ballerina reminded me that the “World of John Wick” is worth our time, and coupled with well-fleshed out themes, which I delve into in another partnering article, I wouldn’t be opposed to more of Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro.
