By: Kimberly Grant
Just when you thought he was out, they pulled him back in. The latest in the John Wick franchise, Ballerina, just hit theaters and it’s got a different feel.
From The World of John Wick: Ballerina is out now in a theater near you.
A Fast Sequel
It appears we can’t quit John Wick. What I believe was supposed to be a one-off movie has now spawned five movies and counting. It’s like the The Fast & The Furious franchise without Vin Diesel making gravelly speeches about driving and family. The action is there. The badass-ness of the title character is there. The heart is there. There’s even a jaw-dropping car scene.
Horrible title aside, the story written by Shay Hatten and Derek Kolstad (who created the characters) is simple and indicative of the previous movies. Our ballerina, Eve Macarro (played by Ana de Armas), has been raised by the Ruska Roma after the brutal murder of her father. Eve knows that the people responsible have a special marking and she vows to take vengeance on those people from the moment of her father’s demise.
Fast forward to the present, Eve’s day of reckoning is now. As a part of the world of John Wick, she uses every resource at her disposal to track down, then face down the people responsible for her father’s killing. If you’re wondering how Keanu Reeves’ John Wick fits into this, I won’t spoil the plot. But I will tell you that John and Eve get to have a showdown of their own.
Fight Like A Girl
De Armas is no stranger to action, but the physicality of her performance is amazing. I like that they incorporated her 5’6 frame as a part of her character’s identity. The theme of the movie is “fight like a girl”. Eve finds her strength within her small stature and leans heavily into it. Is Ballerina a call-to-action for women everywhere who feel too small to fight? Maybe. Is it a great example that anyone can do anything that they set their mind to do given the right circumstances and determination? Absolutely.
There’s a good balance of female empowerment and male dominance in this film, thanks to director Len Wiseman, who wrote and produced the Underworld films. So, he’s no stranger to a badass female lead in an action film. The direction is fast-paced. The camera angles have a rhythm that follows the action with precision. And the characters, male and female, are on equal footing. There’s even a literal fire fight!
The Returning & The New
For characters and the actors who play them, we know de Armas as Eve is great. Reeves’ Wick felt a little stiff with his lines, like he was trying to remember them. Ian McShane reprises his role as upscale Continental manager Winston. Lance Reddick again brings his quiet fierceness to Charon. And, Anjelica Huston reprises are role as The Director with an accent that’s a bit unbearable to hear.
Newcomers to the franchise include Sharon Duncan-Brewster’s Nogi, who says that important line of “fight like a girl”. Nogi exudes a quiet power that is reminiscent of the Dora Milaje in Black Panther. As a novelist, if I wanted to write a scary-good tactical arts instructor as a woman of color, it would be Nogi. Respect.
Catalina Sandino Moreno plays a member of the cult that Eve is tracking, named Lena. Robert Maaser, a former stuntman and Olympic gymnast, is another key member of the cult named Dex. Norman Reedus takes a turn as cult member Daniel Pine, who is trying to protect his daughter Ella (Ava Joyce McCarthy). And, Gabriel Byrne plays the fierce leader of the cult, simply called The Chancellor.
Whether you’re into Girl Power or not, you’ll enjoy this movie; especially if you see it in IMAX.
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