Cast: Ana De Armas, Keanu reeves, Gabriel Byrne, Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, Norman Reedus, catalina Sandino Moreno, Lance Reddick,

Written By: Shay Hatten based on characters created by Derek Kolstad

Directed By: Len Wiseman (Underworld)

original Score By:Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard

Studio: Lionsgate

Release Year: 2025

Runtime: 124 minutes

Audio Description Created By: Deluxe

Written By:

Narrated By: Laura Post

What is it? A spinoff from the John Wick franchise, technically (and horribly misguided) titled Ballerina: From The World Of John Wick, we follow Eve (Academy Award nominee Ana de Armas) as she seeks vengeance against a group of violent thugs that live outside the typical rules of the series, and are responsible for killing her father. Slowly, Eve will uncover the trail that leads to the man responsible (Gabriel Byrne), but perhaps a secret she isn’t ready for, and a man (Keanu Reeves) looking to collect a bounty she may not be ready to face.

What Works: While the legacy left behind by the John Wick quadrilogy is almost impossible to top, Ballerina proves itself a worthy adversary if nothing else. Considering Wick is likely not to return for a fifth film, the continued exploration of this series and its penchant for extraordinarily choreographed action sequences might just now rest on the shoulders of our Ballerina, Eve, and therefore also Ana de Armas. As an actress, Ana has only been getting better, and while I’m certain she lacks the training Keanu Reeves submits himself to in order to make his stunts look good, and keep his face in frame, she is believable in the role. It is easily mistaken as a girl boss role, but she often has to find a different way of taking down her opponents by using what is around her, and her training to assess the situation. She’s not john Wick, but she’s a strong second. While this franchise was built on the back of a murdered dog, it has evolved into one of the biggest, boldest, and continually exciting action franchises. Not only did i enjoy Ballerina, I’m down for a sequel.

What Doesn’t Work: The plot of her film is a little rough, and I’m sure we’re playing with some interesting de-aging techniques on Ian McShane, Gabriel Byrne, and Angelica Huston, who know Eve both as a child, and a grown adult. The film is written less to support the plot, or the character, and more to highlight the action sequences. This worked well for the John Wick franchise, because we started off with an interesting beginning for John Wick, a man willing to burn the world down after the death of the woman he loved, and the senseless murder of an adorable dog. Eve does just inherit his world, and her story is more typical along the regular revenge lines. She also has some excellent supporting cast members that are under utilized, not just Lance Reddick in his final screen appearance, but Oscar nominee Catalina Sandino-Moreno, and Norman Reedus. These are two characters who could really help breathe life into Eve’s unique story, and get her a line of sequels, but Reedus is there just to mirror what Eve went through as a child, and moreno is more of a plot twist than a well developed character. It gives more to franchise regulars Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, and Anjelica Huston, as if they are parents afraid to let their child walk on their own. It doesn’t drag the film down too much, but it’s likely what keeps Ballerina from being able to continue to top what came before it. It’s almost as if they don’t want her to be john Wick, and need her to stay just a step behind.

The Audio Description: truly phenomenal work. One of my favorites this year. John Wick Chapter 4 was my favorite audio description track of 2023, and Ballerina lives up to the same expectation. Things go bang, boom, and we get all the bloody details. She has fun with everything from grenades to flamethrowers, and even the specificity of her walking away from the carnage created is well described. This is a film set up to have a lot of description, and the track met the challenge.

Why You Might Like It: It is an action film through and through. the action set pieces are spectacular.

Why You might Not Like it: You can’t stand strong female leads. If you’re trying to use “she’s not John Wick” as an excuse, he’s actually in a not insignificant amount of the film.

Final Thoughts: Like the title suggests, Ballerina is on pointe. Ana de Armas isn’t Keanu Reeves, but she also shouldn’t have to be.

Fresh: Final Grade: 8/10