Ballerina

If you love what the John Wick series has become then you'll love this movie, it's full of action and great fight scenes. However I can't get over how repetitive it is, it's just on and on with the enemies and to me that gets boring pretty quick.

Also, there is almost zero depth to the movie, thematically, emotionally, metaphorically, you name it. Even the main character barely has any story or depth, let alone any other character. It's just one big revenge story and that again ties into the predictability aspect, after about 25 minutes most people should be able to guess what happens the rest of the way.

It's a good theater flick, it's entertaining, but it's not worthy of a high rating due to its tunnel vision plot and lackluster depth.

Plot? What Plot?

Ballerina is an average movie with exciting action sequences but weighed down with an underwhelming story and tired tropes.

The first 20 minutes are a chore with the standard origin story you've seen before but once the action begins, it doesn't let up and 5 minutes don't past between fight scenes. It's clear to see where the reshoots come in as they appear copied and pasted in.

Ana De Armas is the saving grace of the movie and gives a great performance while Keanu has a fun cameo with just the right amount of screen time. It's a shame to say that Gabriel Byrne is wasted as the villian and doesn't do much with the time provided.

The world of John Wick is a brilliant concept and continues to enthrall. I just wish there was more here to expand the lore and put a bit of meat on it. A decent enough time though, just not as great as i expected.

I was so hyped for this movie! I love Ana de Armas and the John Wick series - Sadly the movie makes one gigantic mistake:

The film wants to tell the story of an absolute beginner in this world of killers, but paints her as the ultimate badass after already 20 minutes!

John Wick was a myth and a legend among people, because he had been in the business for 30+ years or something. He learned tricks and moves to become the ultimate killing machine. He wasn't born as a perfect assassin - he made a name for himself and outlived everyone because he became uniquely good at his job!

In this movie we see this absolute beginner beat up around 8 highly trained fighters in her very first mission without a scratch. Yes she was thrown around a bit, which made it more believable and cool, but this level of competence was something she should have achieved by the end of the movie, not already from the start!

It would have been best if her first mission would have been an absolute failure and she would have almost died - this would have created a bit of fear and higher stakes for the upcoming fights in the story!

But in the film she is in the business for 2 months and is already better than (almost) anyone else who has been trained for 10+ years - that's just ridiculous and ruins all the tension. Dude, it even takes a few months to get decent at a regular office job! It leads us as the audience to instantly believe that no matter what happens, she will be fine.

What I want to see in a beginner story is struggle! I want to see that it's extremely hard for the main character to get through everything so that I can relate to the character and get to root for her! Even fighting one single highly trained person would have been enough for the first fight. (You can do a lot of cool stuff for a fighting sequence between just two people - we have seen this in the John Wick series many times.) Just make her a believable person and a relatable character! (If you compare her fight sequences with those of a different character later on you realise that there is barely any difference in the presented skill level between her and that other character, when fighting other people.)

What makes this whole thing even worse is that she is also acting like this cool tough person who knows it all after a few weeks in the business. It would have been nice to add small things like being confused about the check-in process at one of the hitman hotels because she is not yet familiar with this world or some level of self-doubt and insecurities. This woman has never left her home in years! But we don't feel that for a second! "Oh wow, this place is beautiful!" - or some small human touches like that. A bit of curiosity about the world!

A significant part of what made the John Wick series great was the level of damage the main character took on a constant basis - He got stabbed, trown around and had to be stitched together or walked around all bruised up. You could see that John Wick was going through a lot of pain and suffering. You could feel it! In this movie her hair and makeup look always perfect and if she has a little bit of blood on her face she just wipes it off. Upsi!

This movie is a gigantic missed opportunity without tension or emotional involvement with the main character! Some action sequences are good but they are stitched together without love - we just go from one fight to the next and never get to feel anything. And that is the complete opposite of what Keanu's John Wick was all about - We were rooting for the guy to get his revenge for the little puppy and retire from the industry... Here we don't care about anyone.

A very pleasant movie experience. My first thought after seeing this movie. Was very pleased since I rarely put higher marks on my visits to the cinema.

However I think this movie deserves a watch. If you enjoy the Wickverse that Keanu Reeves have been able to establish these past 11 years I guarantee you that you won't be disappointed.

It has a decent backstory of Eve (the backstory is however a bit toothless, which is a common theme in the John Wick franchise on the expense of the action sequences) and what her intentions are aimed towards as a consequence of her past.

Maybe the emotional involvement is suppressed somewhat on the expense of the actions sequences. However they do the John Wick franchise justice with the action which is good enough for me to have been satisfied to feel my money being invested wisely.

Ana de Armas had some shoes to fill going in to this movie and she truly does a great job.

A very pleasant experience!

7/10 - Well done Ana!

BALLERINA is a visual exhibition to feel the ACTION. Vibrant, frenetic, intense & vengeful, and I'm not just referring to the film, but also to Ana de Armas. An actress capable of anything with an electric aura that will paralyse you into not moving from your seat.

Ana de armas played the role so well. Keanu Reeves as always....his presence in the film is so strong.

OVERALL: It really fits the description "from the world of john wick". With new face de Armas, the John Wick franchise is revitalised with stunning action that feels fresh, not formulaic. Those missing some of that blistering, chaotic John Wick action will definitely find the movie a worthy addition to the franchise.