Alexandria, VA – “Ballerina” is not your grandmother’s Nutcracker. “John Wick” and Matrix aficionados will appreciate the intricate choreography inspired by Chad Stahelski’s work. Stahelski was Keanu Reeves’s stunt double in “The Matrix” and master of the “John Wick” universe as both director and producer of the four films. Stahelski’s bio includes Second Unit Director for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and his highly-anticipated next release, the reboot of “Highlander,” starring Henry Cavill and Russell Crowe.
The latest Wick World spin-off casts Ana de Armas as the recalcitrant Black Swan of the High Table crime syndicate. Eve Macarro becomes orphaned following the murder of her father, assassinated before her eyes by The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), who ruthlessly rules as some sort of German-speaking rogue cult overlord. Eve is adopted by the Ruska Roma in John Wick’s NY. Anjelica Huston as The Director trains Eve to be as sharply en pointe with toe shoes as with an automatic weapon.
There’s a redemptive rhythm to “Ballerina,” a cadence that pulses throughout each and every pirouette or ronde de gunfire. (Officially it’s called “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.”) Much like the disciplined rigors of classical ballet study, Eve’s existence is in a place where poise masks pain. This cinematic spin-off somewhat lacks the riveting gravitas of Wick’s unstoppable retributory rampage and quest for remembrance. Eve’s narrative spins unrelentingly between the sophisticated elegance of the corps de ballet artistry and the imperative savage brutality of an unconscionable assassin racking up corpses.
In five films, counting his appearance in “Ballerina,” John Wick has eliminated between 480 to 500 bad guys, avenged a the robery of a cool muscle car, and grieved an adorable Beagle puppy’s passing. But he has only taken out three bad guys with a pencil.
Eve manages to combine stylish fashion with homicidal utility. I don’t recall any lethal writing implements, but high-heeled stilettos come in handy.
Ana de Armas isn’t an improbable Eve. Her unassumingly captivating Kewpie-doll comportment doesn’t render a compelling portrayal of a woman scorned at first, one who is fueled by an indomitable dance-hard-with-a-vengeance pursuit. Seemingly missing is her hard-to-place accent, odd since she’s playing someone born in Eastern Europe and raised ostensibly by Russian-speaking Gypsies.
Eve’s evolution, as with Ana’s transformation from an ingenue to a star, eventually engages as a full-throttle whirling dervish of fierce female firepower. She’s not exactly the Jane Wick heroine of Charlize Theron’s “Atomic Blonde.” The duality of Eve’s Continental rule-breaking chaos a la Wick is juxtaposed against the studious control of the Ballet Ruska. This presents the same exploitative existential dichotomy Lorraine Broughton encountered living and killing in a man’s Iron Curtain world. Both women’s bodies have been scrupulously trained to perform. They are killer chrysalis, emerging steel magnolias enveloped within silk and fur cocoons. Like “The Turning Point” goes “La Femme Nikita.” That gives them inordinate power.
The direction by Len Wiseman and the screenplay by Shay Hatten delivered this corollary origin saga well enough. The storyline would have benefited from more expansive character development. But that’s not what we worry about in Wick’s world. One can only wonder what a cinematic experience “Ballerina” might have been under Chad Stahelski’s world-building filmmaking. “John Wick” and “John Wick: Chapter 4” are considered to be among the best action-thriller films of all time.
The cinematography by Roman Lacourbas is stylistically reminiscent of Dan Lausten’s phenomenal Wick work. Lausten’s masterful use of color and light is painterly, like Vermeer getting ahold of a flame thrower. Lacourbas’s lens proves to be equally skilled. Imagine a Ruska Roma film-noir with the aesthetics of the Metropolitan Opera gone off the hook – irretractable viscousness ensconced in red velvet where the fat lady never sings.
“Ballerina” would have benefited from more Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, and the late great Lance Reddick. Hands down, Eve desperately needed a dog sidekick. Nonetheless, this film deftly intertwined the two Wick worlds where perfect poise meets true grit, delivering a feverish tarantella still well worth watching.
At Z MovieZ gives “Ballerina” eight out of 10 Zebra stripes. Rated R for strong violence and language.
Loved the movie