Uneven Ballerina a Goofy John Wick Ballet of Bullets, Bloodletting, and Fiery Mayhem
There is a point in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina where things take a delightfully insane turn into the absurd. After a fracas inside another lavish Continental (a safe haven for assassins run by the all-powerful High Table) with all the familiar bells and whistles viewers have come to expect from the Keanu Reeves-centered entries in this franchise, heroine Eve (Ana de Armas) goes to a local gunsmith to both rearm and to get some much-needed information on her intended prey. Things suddenly — and quite literally — explode into an orgiastic tsunami of cartoonish ultraviolence, the Ruska Roma killer utilizing one grenade after another to take out a small army of determined assailants.
It is here the thriller, directed by Underworld and Live Free or Die Hard filmmaker Len Wiseman, finds its footing. Eve, on the hunt for the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), the leader of a bloodthirsty cult even the members of the High Table would rather not associate with, starts going down a path that will put her face-to-face with her intended prey. Events play out with video game efficiency with one absurdly convoluted action set piece after another. It all builds to an otherworldly ludicrous boss battle that, while blatantly unrealistic, remains exhilaratingly exciting all the same.
Good thing because, even by the standards of this series, the scenario fueling Ballerina is dangerously thin. As a child Eve witnesses the murder of her father at the hands of the Chancellor. Rescued by New York Continental director Winston (Ian McShane), she is delivered into the hands of the Ruska Roma and their authoritative Director (Anjelica Huston). Here Eve is trained in their lethally effective protective arts and, after a decade or so of schooling, she heads out against orders to discover the Chancellor’s whereabouts and exact her revenge.
The film is set concurrently with the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. This allows Reeve to enter into the story at two key points: once early on before the mayhem begins, and then later during the climax right when Eve is zeroing in on her target. Other characters from the main series also pop in and out, including the late, great Lance Reddick, reprising his role as the New York Continental’s wise concierge Charon one last time.
Much of the first hour, while handsomely shot by cinematographer Romain Lacourbas (Taken 2) and picturesquely realized down to the most minute detail by production designer Philip Ivey (Extraction), is still something of a ho-hum slog. This is where the plot is at its most mundane and where Wiseman has difficulty generating tension, excitement, or suspense. The action scenes oddly fizzle out, and the whole La Femme Nikita meets Black Widow ballet school sections are perplexingly inert.
It’s not until that second hour that things turn the corner. Thankfully, once that happens, Ballerina takes off like it’s been shot out of a canon. New characters are introduced (some of which, notably a steely-eyed pro played by former Oscar-nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno with haunting conviction, should have played a larger part in the proceedings) and the fights grow in pugilistic intensity. Best of all is a small, mountaintop township covered in snow that’s like something out of a 1950s Hammer Frankenstein production, and it is here where things truly explode into something gloriously eye-popping.
After her scene-stealing turn as Bond ally Poloma in No Time to Die, there wasn’t honestly a question whether or not de Armas would have the chops to be believable as a take-no-prisoners action star. Even so, seeing her slide down icy rooftops, take out a handful of thugs with a pair of ice skates (on her hands, no less), and handle a flamethrower with magnetic panache, all of that and more brought me far more joy than I’d anticipated beforehand. As to her scenes with Reeves? The first one is basically a tease and it’s the second one that matters. I’m happy to say it’s more than worth the wait.
Still, Ballerina is a mixed bag, one that takes far too much time to get going. But when it does, this latest foray into the insane world of the High Table has plenty to offer. Its ballet of bullets is one fans of the series will likely want to pull the trigger on seeing sooner rather than later.
Film Rating: 2½ (out of 4)
