Can the John Wick franchise survive life at the box office after its main character’s death? Ballerina attempts to answer that question.
At the conclusion of John Wick: Chapter 4, a somber cemetery scene zooms onto the gravestone of the Baba Yaga, himself. A complex duel leaves our tortured hero badly bleeding, and his final wish is for Winston (played by Ian McShane) to bury his remains next to those of his wife. As a fan of the franchise, I was disappointed there would be no more big-screen adventures for this hitman who seemingly always had one foot in the grave.
But with the power of Hollywood, time travel is no longer a problem when bringing a popular character back to life!
Taking place between the events of Chapter 3 — Parabellum and Chapter 4, this new storyline showcases the journey of Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas). As a child, she is emotionally distraught after witnessing the death of her father. Although a Kikimora assassin, his attempts to flee The Cult with his wife were eventually unsuccessful, leading little Eve to follow in his footsteps. Initially joining the Ruska Roma crime syndicate as a young dancer, all of her training leads her to the role as a weapon of mass destruction, one who demands justice.
If this revenge fantasy sounds vaguely familiar, that’s intentional. And as we’ve learned in previous outings, there’s rules to this game… and consequences, as well. No longer brought to the big screen from the director of the first four Wick films, Len Wiseman holds the reins this time, leading Eve down her personal path of destruction.
“You don’t choose to be a killer. You’re chosen.”
As Eve seeks vengeance, bounty hunters make their presence felt — this wouldn’t be a credible story within the John Wick Universe, otherwise — which leads her to Daniel Pine (Norman Reedus).
First a foe, then a friend, Pine’s attempt to flee The Cult is intertwined with Eve’s main objective. And future chapters of the Wick franchise offer a sense of hope with the prospects of Reedus’ return, as long as the actor can escape the never-ending clutches of The Walking Dead.
Norman Reedus joins the John Wick Universe in Ballerina. Photo Courtesy: Larry D. Horricks/Lionsgate.
As much as I loved his work on the short-lived-but-deserved-better-ratings The Gifted and definitely looking forward to his upcoming Swamp Thing feature film, director Len Wiseman feels a little out of his element within this franchise. Most likely hired for his past efforts in centering a franchise around Kate Beckinsale in Underworld, I truly loved the Wick world building in Ballerina, but at the end of the day, this girl-with-a-gun movie is absolutely comparable to Furiosa, which also removed a previously popular male character for a spinoff side story that fails to raise the stakes of its previous adventures.
At some point, the creativity of the John Wick films became somewhat diluted and scene after scene simply became just another kill after kill. Die-hard action film fans didn’t seem to mind, but the mere thought of topping endless fights eventually became impossible. Not saying that’s what has happened to this franchise, but even though I thoroughly enjoyed watching Ballerina, I wish this movie could have been released before the death of Lance Reddick and not afterward. With rumors that John Wick: Chapter 5 is already well into pre-production, fans of the franchise could have gotten one more well-intentioned dose of Charon, if it was only released sooner.
As an assassin with a thing for knives, Eve earns her role within the John Wick Universe the hard way as she redefines what it means to “fight like a girl,” showing a toughness that will constantly need to outthink her opposition, as she will always be undersized. The same can be said of Ana de Armas in this role, as some won’t give the actress a chance at portraying this character, due to her size. I say give her a chance; if you’re a fan of the previous films, you might just be surprised by the outcome.
If you’ve seen any of the film’s trailers, you’ll know that Baba Yaga (Keanu Reeves) definitely leaves his mark on this film, and it’s probably not the character’s last. There’s an unwritten rule in Hollywood: If you didn’t actually see someone die on screen, there’s a decent chance that same character actually lived to see another day — especially if it’s a popular one (and the previous film broke all sorts of box-office records).
As a big fan of crossover stories and high-tech weaponry (not to mention a highly choreographed dance of dueling flamethrowers), From the World of John Wick: Ballerina receives the recommendation of this John Wick fan.