The John Wick spin-off film “Ballerina” resolves a concern about how this franchise can operate without the iconic Keanu Reeves as the headlining character.
While this film indeed features Wick in more than twenty minutes of the film, this is mainly an action vehicle for Ana De Armas as the vengeful assassin Eva Macarro, who is on the verge of breaking the rules of her organization to avenge the death of her father.
Macarro doesn’t have the cheesy charm of John Wick, but she is more likable as a fully formed character. Being a novice in her profession, she tends to fall and scream her lungs out from the pain. She is immensely vulnerable but carries the grit of a merciless killer.
“Ballerina” knows that it isn’t made to become a critical darling with heaps of festival laurels, but for the sheer joy of coming up with playful ways to demonstrate action sequences. It is a true audience charmer by way of the strengths of the previous “John Wick” films. In one extended sequence, Macarro would make a body bag out of multiple hand grenades so she could blow out her opponents one by one. The film’s climax, without revealing the fun surprise, unfolds into a hand-to-hand combat scene of Dragon Ball anime-level violence.
“Ballerina” is flawed, and it doesn’t matter that it is. Plot threads will suddenly be abandoned to cater to more action, and sometimes, that is fine. I wouldn’t mind if Ana De Armas took over this franchise very soon.
"From the World of John Wick: Ballerina" is now showing in cinemas.
Featured images from Lionsgate.
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