The John Wick franchise has been going for over a decade now and its influence has been undeniable. After all, everybody loves Keanu Reeves and they are some of the most well made action films of the century, consistently packing a punch. In the four mainline film, they escalate in their ridiculousness, both in tone and also in what they try to convincingly pull off. Spawning terms like ‘gun-fu’, becoming a $1 billion franchise and essentially creating its own action sub-genre, it is not controversial to say that the films were very successful. John Wick: Chapter 4 brought the films to a satisfying closure and although there is talk of another entry, the prospect of spinoffs is seen as the way to keep the franchise alive. As far back as 2017, Ballerina had been in development and was always to be overseen by director and creator of the John Wick films, Chad Staheleski. Although Len Wiseman is billed as the director for this film, there was a great deal reshot by Staheleski and his team. To an extent, you can tell. But nevertheless, Ballerina feels like a faithful entry into the franchise and is a hell of a good time.

Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a ballerina-assassin. After her father being killed when she was young, she is taken in by the organisation known as the Ruska Roma. She trains with them to be an assassin, learning through the flourish, balance and determination of ballet dancing. Having been intitially scooped up by Winston (Ian McShane) from the John Wick series, he acts as a sort of guardian to her in her world outside that of the Ruska Roma. This film takes place during John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and we even see Wick’s exile from the Ruska Roma from Eve’s point of view. She wants to be like him, a legend in control of her own life and not tied down by the Director of the Ruska Roma’s rules. After becoming a fully fledged assassin, through many hardships, Eve encounters somebody affiliated with those who killed her father. Abandoning her post at the Ruska Roma and defying the Director’s orders, Eve goes on a quest for answers and revenge.

For the John Wick franchise’s future, spinoffs make perfect sense and this film is the perfect case for it. The world is strange and full of shadow organisations and crime syndicates underneath its surface so there is a lot of potential to explore everything. 2023’s The Continental series tried to do this and ultimately failed because it did not manage to make itself feel apart of the universe. It had an absence of the trademark stylishness and even lacked small things that make the franchise great, like its leanings on awkward comedy to space things out between viscious action sequences. Ballerina thankfully manages to do its own thing, whilst feeling completely at home in the universe. Everything is as it should be; its tone being over-the-top but self-aware, the world oozing with interesting characters and locations and, of course, the action being brutal, thrilling and stylish. It does not at any point feel like it is disingenuously aping the films’ overall style either and feels like an essential companion piece. Perhaps what is most important is how it treats the character of John Wick within the world and it does it brilliantly. As the trailer shows, Wick is in this film for a small portion and whilst he is great there, it is even cooler to see people talk about him outside of his presence. Mentions of the ‘Baba Yaga’, as he is referred to, are said with a sense of presence that most characters would dream to have. This universe definitely does not all centre around him but it certainly responds to his presence with a perfect emphasis and that is a sign of an impeccably well-made character and world.

Of course, this film is centred around Eve and unfortunately, much to do with her story pales in comparison to elements of the pre-established world that are built upon. She is obviously taken into the Ruska Roma quite young and after what she has gone through as a child, she should be a bit more shaken up and traumatised than she is. That would have been an interesting avenue to venture but it seems to disregard her past until it becomes convenient for the plot. Approximately the first third of this film is primarily just her in training for being an assassin and it does go on too long. The action scenes make sense to be a bit more lacklustre because of her rookie experience but there comes a point where it is ridiculous. She just stands there, taking hit after hit, and it is not really evident that she has had twelve years of training. After a two month time jump, she is immediately more capable and it makes a nice change. She still makes mistakes but, the action is upgraded in quality from then on to make it much more entertaining. The reason for this being here is obviously to show her progression but it overstays its welcome and it does not give the best first impression for the film or Eve as a character.

Once the film shakes off its first third, it turns into a different film entirely. As Eve grows in confidence and ability, fueled by her revenge quest, Ana de Armas in turn gets better and more assured. She has that charming delivery of certain lines that is reminiscent of Reeves in the other films and the work she has done towards doing her own stunts in this, much like Reeves, is admirable. The work done has certainly paid off becaus once Eve sets on her quest, every action scene is fantastic and thrilling to watch. As opposed to John Wick’s brutal efficiency with guns, Eve is very scrappy, using whatever she can near her to survive. It makes her feel human in a way they do not do so with Wick. He is incredible at what he does and can feel untouchable at points but Eve barely making it through fights is very refreshing and makes her feel more familiar by being easier to connect with. Because of the scrappiness, there is a lot going on in the best way possible. The camera work and choreography is superb, very much hitting the high standard of the franchise. It really hits its stride in the third act and that final 30 minutes is incredible fun. One scene where Eve wields a flamethrower is visually breathtaking and is the epitome of these films’ over-the-top nature being so endearing and more-ish.

This feels like an incredibly similar case to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in that it struggles to get going to begin with but it really kicks into gear later on. I was giddy with what I saw towards the end and it made me leave the cinema very pleased which makes thinking back to its more mediocre setup feel annoying and picky. If you love an action thrill-ride with some of the best made fight scenes of the year, look no further than this. General audiences will not leave the cinema thinking about that first act and that definitely works in its favour. But as a full, concise package, it does suffer slightly from that beginning portion to give it an excellent score overall. Still, this is an easy recommendation for any fans of the franchise or action fans in general and it lives up to its John Wick attachment.