Ballerina: From the World of John Wick
The inner logic of the world of “John Wick” fascinates me, and with this spin-off of the franchise, it is thrown for even more loops. Throughout this film’s 125 minute running time, I’m left to wonder what the ratio of contract killers to criminals to normal human beings are in this world. The answer would probably leaving me asking more questions, so I will just leave myself to wondering in these reviews. All that being said, I am a fan of this world, and “Ballerina” is another entertaining entry in this franchise.
Revenge stories all start similarly- something (or, more likely, someone) is taken from the protagonist, thus beginning a violent tale of retribution. For John Wick (Keanu Reeves), it was the dog his late wife got him as a parting gift. For Eve (played by Ana de Armas), it is her father (David Castañeda), who was trying to keep her from a world of violence. Sadly, it was not meant to be. She is taken to the Ruska Roma by Winston (Ian McShane), and makes her choice. Twelve years later, it’s time for her vengeance.
I understand why it is thematically and musically an easy go-to for filmmakers, but why is it every story about moral grey areas surrounding ballet must use Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” on its soundtrack? Again, I get it, and it makes sense, but is there no other ballet that could be used to get the same points across? Alas, I do not see a moratorium on using the iconic music any time soon, and in Les Wiseman’s film’s defense, it utilizes the film well, but I was more stoked by the return of composers Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard for the score, and they delivered the goods.
If you’d like an idea as to where “Ballerina” lands narratively within the “John Wick” franchise, look at it as “The Book of Boba Fett” to the other film’s “Mandalorian.” This film takes place- for the most part- parallel to the events of 2019’s “Parabellum,” and we even see Wick’s arrival at Ruska Roma from Eve’s perspective. As with “The Book of Boba Fett,” this has a side quest for the original main character that plays into this story’s main character’s arc, but it’s more of a continued deepening of Wick’s character rather than a big arc for himself. It’s a nice little aside that plays well into Eve’s story, as- up to the end- she still has a choice.
As I opened this film by saying, the logic of this franchise is curious. In addition to all of the assassins running around, Eve’s story revolves around a cult of assassins led by a character known as The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne). The Chancellor is who is responsible for the death of Eve’s father, who was trying to get her away from this commune of killers. All roads lead to The Chancellor’s town, a small village where everyone is a deadly weapon- or one in training- including his first lieutenant (Catalina Sandino Moreno), who may or may not be disposable herself to The Chancellor.
“Ballerina” lacks the overall visual style of the “Wick” films- in part because Wiseman is not Chad Stahelski- but the action still delivers the goods, and de Armas is a great lead for this film. We also get Norman Reedus as a potential mark, Anjelica Huston returns to her role as The Director of Ruska Roma, and the final performance of the late Lance Reddick as Cheron. Is this film nonsensical? Completely. Did I enjoy it? Thoroughly, and I wouldn’t mind more.
