Why 'Ballerina' is The Spinoff Hollywood Needs

Courtesy of LionsGate

Ballerina is the highly anticipated John Wick spinoff film. The film takes place in between John Wick 3 and John Wick 4. When this was announced, audiences were a bit skeptical. They thought about how spinoffs from other franchises didn't work and worried this one would be the same. Also, they didn't want this film to ruin the John Wick legacy. So, does this film live up to the hype or is it another disappointing spinoff?

Ballerina follows the life of Eve Macarro. After a tragic event, Eve is recruited into the Ruska Roma. Eve slowly develops her skills into becoming a badass assassin just like John Wick. Throughout the film, we see familiar faces such as The Director played by Anjelica Huston, Winston played by Ian McShane, Charon played by the late Lance Reddick, and of course John Wick played by Keanu Reeves. Ana de Armas plays the role of Eve and does a fantastic job. Her performance is believable as a badass assassin and her action scenes are fantastic. The training she did for this film paid off in a big way. Ana de Armas is the next great action star.

Speaking of the action, the sequences in this film are just like every other John Wick movie. That means these sequences are awesome. The camera work in this franchise is always the highest quality in any action film I have ever seen before. The camera is steady and doesn't have many cuts which means we can everything happening in a smooth way. This makes the action look even better and even more impressive. Some of the kills in this film are laugh out loud funny in a good way because the way they pulled it off is truly incredible. In a John Wick film, the most important part is the action and Ballerina nails that.

One of the weaker parts of the film is the story. The story is typical formulaic John Wick story. Ballerina doesn't have anything new or exciting that will grip the audience and make them more emotionally invested. The villains in this film are formulaic. There intentions aren't really that clear and makes the film less interesting. But, in a John Wick film the story really doesn't matter that much. In any other film, you can't say the same but a John Wick film is different. You know the story is going to be about a character's revenge or surviving a contract being put on them. The action is what makes the film go and thrive.

Some people are asking how long Keanu Reeves is in this film. He is not in it for much of this film but he plays an important role to Eve. When John Wick is in the film, you can feel his aura and presence just takes over the film. But, it is a good thing that John Wick wasn't in the film that much. Ballerina needed to tell the story of a new character in the John Wick universe and it did that. We found out what Eve's motivation is and what type of character she is. That is what a good spinoff film does. It doesn't rely on the old beloved characters. It creates characters that you can also get emotionally invested in and root for. The film also creates the opportunity for sequels to be made and for the John Wick universe to continue to thrive.

Grade: B

What did you think of Ballerina? Leave your opinion in the comments below.