Two years on from John Wick Chapter 4 and the first spin-off movie of the highly popular action franchise has arrived. Set between the events of John Wick 3 and 4, Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve, an assassin bent on revenge over her father’s death.
Filming wrapped in 2022, hence the late Lance Reddick’s final screen appearance as Charon. But the movie was delayed a year, with Chad Stahelski (director of the four other films) reportedly overseeing three months of reshoots of most of it, all without director Len Wiseman on set.
Winston star Ian McShane even confessed on The One Show a year ago that Ballerina needed to be largely redone to protect the integrity of the franchise.
It was a big gamble, but thankfully, we can confirm that it was the right move. This is yet another excellent addition to the immersive world of John Wick.
Having shown off her action chops as a Bond girl in No Time To Die, Ana de Armas continues to impress as a lead in the genre. Holding her own in some of the best sequences of the Wick franchise to date, Ballerina is just as entertaining as the outings led by Keanu Reeves, introducing the creative use of both hand grenades and flame throwers, to name a couple of highlights. Talking of the main man himself, you’d have thought he’d just have a cameo, but there’s a healthy dose of the Baba Yaga at both the start (recreating scenes from Chapter 3 from a different perspective) to his altercation with Eve later in the movie.
Supporting cast from McShane, Reddick, and Anjelica Huston’s Director are just as welcome as ever, while a cameo from Norman Reedus adds further action stardom. Alas, Gabriel Byrne’s villain is underwhelmingly vanilla compared to the colourful baddies of Chapter 4 played by Bill Skarsgard and Scott Adkins. Nevertheless, after the over-the-top, lengthy action scenes in that outing, Ballerina feels more grounded without being self-indulgent. Here’s hoping de Armas and Reeves can dance again in the upcoming John Wick 5.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina hits UK cinemas on Friday.