BALLERINA : Tuesday 10th June 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'BALLERINA' earlier this week, and this American action thriller film is the fifth film in the 'John Wick' franchise, and serves as a spin-off instalment that is Directed by Len Wiseman, whose prior feature film making credits are 'Underworld' in 2003, 'Underworld : Evolution' in 2006, 'Live Free or Die Hard' in 2007 and 'Total Recall' in 2012, as well as Producing 'Underworld : Rise of the Lycans' in 2009, 'Underworld : Awakening' in 2012, and 'Underworld : Blood Wars' in 2016. This film is also Co-Produced by Chad Stahelski who Directed the first four 'John Wick' films. The film was released here in Australia and the US last week, having so far grossed US$57M from a production budget of US$90M and has generated largely positive critical reviews. Allegedly as far back as March 2023 the studio announced it has plans to develop a sequel with de Armas returning to her role. 

The film opens with a young Eve Macarro (Victoria Comte) playing at ballet dancing with her father Javier (David Castaneda) in their lavish seaside villa. Javier is/was an assassin, a Kikimora for the Ruska Roma, and when Eve was younger he went on the run with his daughter to escape a Cult his wife was heavily involved with, which ultimately led to her death. The Cult's Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne) wants to retrieve Eve, and so undercover of darkness the Cult lays siege to their residence, killing the guards and fatally wounding Javier, who helps Eve escape. New York Continental Hotel owner Winston Scott (Ian McShane) brings Eve to the Ruska Roma, where Eve meets their Director (Anjelica Huston) and agrees to join them.

Over the course of the ensuing twelve years Eve (Ana de Armas) trains as a ballerina and a Kikimora assassin/bodyguard under the Director and her mentor Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster). Eve graduates as a Kikimora after killing a fellow Kikimora, as a final test to truly assess that she has what it takes. After completing a contract some two months later, Eve is attacked by an assassin, whom she kills and identifies as a Cultist from a scar of a cross burned onto his wrist. She asks the Director about the Cult, wanting revenge. The Director forbids Eve from chasing down the Cult due to a centuries old truce between the Cult and the Ruska Roma.

Eve disobeys the Director and visits the New York Continental, where Charon, the Hotel Concierge (Lance Reddick, in his final screen appearance following his death in March 2023, aged 60) grants her a meeting with Winston. Winston reveals that one Cultist, Daniel Pine (Norman Reedus), is staying at the Prague Continental with a US$2M bounty on him, so Eve travels there and books a room directly next to his. Several Cultists are also there, led by Lena (Catalina Sandino Moreno), waiting for the bounty's fulfilment. 

Eve infiltrates Pine's room, discovering his young daughter Ella (Ava McCarthy), whom Pine reveals is hiding from the Cult, having escaped from them. When the Cult sees that Eve has not killed Pine, Lena increases the bounty to US$4M. The Cultists and other mercenaries attack Pine on Continental grounds. Eve assists him and he entrusts Ella to her. Cultist Dex (Robert Maaser) shoots Pine, while Lena incapacitates Eve and takes Ella. The Prague Continental staff spare Eve for not breaking Continental rules but execute two captured Cultists/mercenaries for their attack.

While in Prague Eve goes to purchase a stash of weapons from arms dealer Frank (Abraham Popoola), but the Cult henchmen attack his shop. After Eve kills every last one of the Cult's heavies, Frank helps her narrow down the location of the Cult's base and provides her with a car so that she can drive herself to their location. 

Eve's search leads to the town of Hallstatt in Upper Austria, where she quickly comes under attack as all the townspeople are of the Cult and many are assassins, some of whom the Cult has offered safe haven to. Eve is eventually captured and brought to the Chancellor, who discovers her ties to the Ruska Roma. Eve reveals her revenge plot, while he reveals that Pine is his son and Ella his granddaughter. The Chancellor remembers Eve, informing Lena that she is Eve's older sister, whom Eve believed to be dead. Eve breaks free before being cornered by Lena, who reveals their kinship. Lena tells Eve that Javier abandoned her during his escape due to fearing that the Cult had already indoctrinated Lena. Hearing of Eve and Lena talking, the Chancellor orders their deaths. The Cult's attack kills Lena while Eve escapes.

The Chancellor calls the Director with a declaration of war between their factions due to Eve's relentless actions, despite the Director repeatedly stating that Eve had gone rogue. To satisfy the Chancellor, the Director sends John Wick (Keanu Reeves) to take out Eve as a compromise, which the Chancellor accepts. 

The Chancellor orders a temporary stand-down of the townsfolk once John arrives at Hallstatt, where he finds and defeats Eve, repeatedly sparing her and imploring her to leave Hallstatt. Eve pleads for her revenge, so the sympathetic John gives her the remaining twenty-eight minutes until midnight, when the stand-down orders end, to kill the Chancellor. If she fails to kill the Chancellor by then, he will have no choice but to see out his contract to its foregone conclusion.

Eve continues fighting against the Cult across Hallstatt, with John killing Dex to save Eve. Some Cultists attack John, who in turn kills them. When the Cult loses track of John, the Chancellor attempts to flee with Ella in a SUV, but Eve shoots the driver causing the vehicle to come to an abrupt halt, and corners the Chancellor. The Chancellor exits the car and attempts to reason with Eve, but Eve executes him where he stands, and rescues Ella. John calls the Director who asks if 'she' is dead, but John simply responds by stating that 'he' is dead.

Ella is reunited with an alive and recovering Pine at the New York Continental where Eve takes refuge. Now exiled from the Ruska Roma, Eve watches former Kikimora trainee and friend Tatiana's (Juliet Doherty) Swan Lake ballet performance. The Cult places a US$5M bounty on Eve, and being alerted to this development on her mobile phone, as were several other members of the audience, she quickly exits the theatre.

'Ballerina' has all the trademarks of the four previous 'John Wick' instalments, which I guess is down largely to the involvement of Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves, from the bullet ballet choreography, the intense close quarter fight scenes, the creative kills, and a strong cast who really give it their all. Director Len Wiseman has done a very respectable job of steering this franchise in a relatively new direction whilst maintaining the many touchstones, characters, top notch cinematography, relentless pace and everything we have come to expect from the series so far. Ana de Armas gives a solid performance as the Ballerina in question here, and seems to slip easily enough into the role as the gun totting, arse kicking, flame thrower wielding, ice skate launching, grenade lobbing assassin Eve Macarro, and it's good to see Keanu Reeves reprise his role as John Wick even if only for a couple of scenes in the last fifteen minutes or so. 

'Ballerina' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-