Ballerina Parent Guide

After her father (David Castaneda) was murdered by a mysterious gang of skilled killers, Eve (Ana de Armas) was taken in by the Ruska Roma – a terrifyingly dangerous and effective criminal organization. The same organization that built John Wick (Keanu Reeves).

Under the Director’s (Anjelica Huston) demanding tutelage, Eve learns the same skills – mostly to do with murdering people who don’t particularly want to be murdered. There’s also a focus on ballet: the speed and stamina required are essential for her new line of work. Eve is happy with the job, in spite of the inherent messiness, and the good probability of getting stabbed a few times a week, but then she finds a clue to the identity of her father’s killer…

I had my doubts about the film, offset somewhat by Ana de Armas’ turn as a killer in James Bond’s last outing, No Time to Die, but I needn’t have worried. While this movie is a more personal story than any of the John Wick-focused entries, it doesn’t spend a lot of time on maudlin introspection. This is still a blow-things-up, kill-lots-of-people, unhinged-intercontinental-murder-spree kind of film.

The fights are, as always, gorgeously put together, clearly shot, easy to follow, entertaining, and exciting. The stunt team deserve a free lifetime supply of ibuprofen and a big raise, if you ask me, because they have taken some hard knocks and a lot of time in flame-resistant equipment to make this film as visceral as it can be. And that’s plenty visceral. I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite this many people burned alive in an action film before.

Obviously, that’s going to discourage family viewing, and the profanity doesn’t help either. But there aren’t any other major issues, and I think adult genre fans (especially John Wick devotees) are really going to enjoy de Armas’s faster, more agile fights. Not that Keanu was getting slow, but he’s a tall guy, and the filmmakers have made the most of the differences. Ballerina might not be an elegant display of fine art, but it’s a good time if you’re into watching dozens of thugs getting gunned down in just about every way possible.