Don Reviews "From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina"

From CSI to The Walking Dead, spinoffs are all over the place right now in entertainment. Even family films like Puss in Boots have gotten in on the fun with mixed results.  The latest to do so is From the World of John Wick: Ballerina from Len Wiseman (Underworld).

Ana De Armas leads the way here with help from characters from the base series played by Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, and Anjelica Huston. Taking place between the events of the third and fourth John Wick films, Eve (Armas)  sees her father murdered by a crime syndicate as a child and is taken in by what is known as Ruska Roma to become an asset for their organization.  When she comes across a clue that brings back memories of her father’s death, she goes rouge on a mission to get retribution for her father’s death.

The performances are fine and are par with what can be expected from the John Wick films; nothing to brag or complain about.  On the upside, this film uses multiple locations around the globe and is shot beautifully almost to a point where it was an advertisement for places like Prague, and I absolutely bought in.  There is also a solid soundtrack and score that compliments the action and intensity.

While the John Wick films gave us a look into the underworld, Ballerina goes into another realm of organized crime (which is a compliment).  Even with that, I think the big question is whether or not this was an attempt to make a new female version of John Wick himself, to which I would say not really.  This is not a rip-off or a female remake of the original: this is a new character going in a new direction.  It does have some great action sequences, showing some new innovative ways to make people “taken care of” like the other films, which was also pretty cool.  If I have one gripe, it would be that with From the World of John Wick: Ballerina being a little over two hours long, a few points of it could have been cut.  It is not worse than the films that came before it, but it also is not the worst film in the series overall, so I would recommend seeing this film as a matinee showing in the theaters.