Movie Review: Ballerina

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Exactly what you want from a John Wick spinoff. 

The John Wick series is one of my favorite action franchises. As such, I was both excited and nervous about the franchise's first spinoff movie. I needn't have been nervous as this is a completely welcome addition. This film is full of everything I love about the John Wick movies. The John Wick series has brought to the cinema some of the greatest action sequences I have ever seen. The action scenes here are fully on par with what we have come to expect from the franchise. These action scenes are as visually stylish, grand in scale, perfectly paced and choreographed and wildly entertaining as one could hope for. There were a few times that pretty much made my jaw drop. There is even some legitimately hilarious slapstick humor inserted into a couple of these scenes. These are the types of action scenes that put those in most Hollywood action films to shame. Ana de Armas proves herself to be an excellent action stat and handles each action sequence like a pro. She also has the pure charisma it takes to pull such a role off. Her character is also a great lead character. She is the type of character that it is easy to care about and sympathize with and we do so throughout the film, even if the movie doesn't hide the darker parts of her personality. Having her be physically weaker than many of her opponents and having to overcome that by fighting dirty also helps give the action scenes a great little twist that makes them all the more exciting and inventive. The story itself may be simple, but it is engaging and makes us care about what happens next. Once more the film never once becomes boring or loses its audience's interest. The movie also does a great job expanding upon the world of the previous films in the franchise, while staying perfectly true to the lore. This makes this movie an even greater delight to those of us who love this franchise. 

This is everything I could have hoped for it to be.