First Take: Ballerina - when has Ana de Armas ever put in a bad performance?

SYNOPSIS: An assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma organization sets out to seek revenge after her father’s death.

11 years ago Lionsgate unleashed an independently made action film called John Wick upon the world. Let’s just say that John - and his puppy - went on to redefine the genre, spawning four Chapters, a TV series in The Continental, and now, this spinoff which is set after Chapter 3, but before Chapter 4. Timeline wise, bit hard to understand, but as a standalone film it works alright.

Len Wiseman is the man tasked with helming this film, and coming in at 2 hours 5 minutes, it feels relatively well paced and keeps up with the style set by the main Wick films, however, he can’t take all the credit though, as Chad Stahelski did so some uncredited work reshooting aspects of the film that Wiseman couldn’t quite nail down in principal photography. It'a slso pretty obvious that Shay Hatten’s original script has changed a lot since Lionsgate picked it up in 2017 (directly influencing elements of Chapter 3), and as a result it is one of those films that EARNS its BBFC rating, so viewers of a nervous disposition should 100% read the extended information that everyone’s favourite film ratings body has put out. Behind the camera is , and on score duty is the franchise’s longtime composers Tyler Bates and Joel J Richard, quite literally picking up where they left off.

Leading this cast is someone who has learned a fair bit about this genre over the years (especially after stealing the show in No Time to Die) - as she always does, Ana de Armas continues to be a talent willing to put in the work on a film like this, clearly doing a lot of her own stunts in the process, and supporting her are a lot of familiar faces from Chapter 3: Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane and Lance Reddick (in his final performance) return to the series, with Catalina Sandino Moreno and Norman Reedus joining the cast for this entry into the John Wick universe. And of course, there’s Keanu Reeves. I understand why they’ve gone back in time to allow him to appear, it is, after all, his most well known ‘modern’ film series… but was that cameo really needed in the end? I wound up watching this with Screen Rant writer Ben Gibbons in a cinema we both know rather well at this point - and it really comes alive on a premium large format screen if people are willing to watch it. Sadly the box office is indicating otherwise, audiences just don’t seem to be responding to this film, and it’s a shame.

THE VERDICT

Looking at this as a standalone film, it works on many levels, but tied in with the John Wick universe, and especially knowing that (somehow) we are getting a 5th chapter and inevitably a sequel… I don’t know. Franchise fatigue is now a very real risk, and that’s a shame for a series which has taken the rulebook and sent it down the Sacre Coeur staircase.

RATING: 3.5/5