IR Film Review: BALLERINA [Summit/Lionsgate]
The essence of action is seeing with the eyes of your protagonist. "Ballerina" does very well in this regards though it does require a little bit of set up to get the idea going. The structure works in this way because you can't simply drop Ana de Armas into killing mode without showing in some basic way, shape and form how she got there. All the familiar structures and stars are there. It is just Eve's story. The essence of the Baba Yaga is still in the background but it is more based in the aspect of the Director (Angelika Houston) and the balance of a secret sect which is in many ways responsible for the life and trauma that Eve feels. Whereas Wick's progression and the aspect of his dog in the first "John Wick" was the last straw, Eve (Armas) (and her trauma) has been built since her childhood. It is a very different fighting style but de Armas is game in her approach. Granted one can see the stunt work lines but she is trying her very best.
The movie builds specifically to a certain crescendo but what she takes into play is very specific. Like Wick, she builds her style and when it gets to the final climax, she is using everything at her disposal. She moves in a certain progression to be sure. Gabriel Byrne is the bad guy per se but again he is moving on his set of rules. Even Wick reminds Eve of this fact because she moves outside the lines and the game is about rules. Eve is measured in her asks but she is motivated by emotion in many ways even though her steps are surgical. There are a couple scenes where this falls by the wayside but the best ones are when she goes into rage mode and abandons caution. The Wick films are about trying to take on the heightened reality without losing stakes despite that it loses believability to make the stunts work. But it never feels cheesy.
"Ballerina" fares less than "John Wick Chapter 4" but understands its origins like the first John Wick. Of course having Reeves in play of course helps but in a way hinders it though necessary. It is important in terms of marketing of course and he operates smartly in the periphery since this is de Armas' movie. She holds it well but if it was only her it might not have the justification for the movie as it is. In all estimations, it should work and it does. However Director Len Wiseman ("Underworld") is not quite Chad Stahelski, simply because he is not a stuntman turned director. Wiseman does an admirable and it operates in the same universe but it is not the same. This movie is perhaps more enticing than the series: "The Continental" which came and went without much fanfare. "Ballerina" understands its MO and tows the line but doesn't rise above the material and yet does it no injustice. The question in perspective is where does it go from here. B
By Tim Wassberg
