‘Ballerina’ review: Ana de Armas shoots to kill in underwhelming John Wick spinoff

Dir: Len Wiseman. US. 2025. 124mins

Early in Ballerina, Ana de Armas’ budding assassin is complimented on her singular killer instinct. Anyone who watches this John Wick spinoff will agree with that assessment, as the Oscar-nominated actress delivers a ferocious, muscular performance that almost overcomes the film’s weaknesses. Action fans should savour the spectacularly violent set pieces, but a bland villain and an underwhelming narrative ultimately prove even more lethal than de Armas.

Has none of John Wick’s emotional underpinnings

Rolling out globally from June 4, Ballerina will be a test of de Armas’s box-office might: she has previously starred in the likes of Knives Out and Blonde, and had a brief but memorable cameo in 2021’s No Time To Die, where she got to show off her action skills. This is the first instalment in the franchise since 2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4, which grossed a series-high $440m worldwide, and Keanu Reeves does indeed show up for this spinoff. (Ballerina is set during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which is important considering Reeves’ hit man died at the end of the 2023 film.)

De Armas plays Eve, who, as a child, witnessed her father being murdered by masked men. Now trained by the fearsome Ruska Roma, which has taught her the art of ballet as well as killing, this formidable assassin seeks to find the individuals who executed him. Eve’s quest will take her to New York, the Czech Republic and Austria, where she tracks down The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), the leader of a deadly cult responsible for her father’s death.

In the 11 years since the first John Wick, the franchise has grown more grandiose in terms of its world-building, budget and fight sequences. Unfortunately, the sequels sometimes became so self-regarding and operatic that they sacrificed the down-and-dirty pleasures of the original film. But while Ballerina boasts the same neon-lit theatrics as Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, this spinoff does somewhat return to the inventive, flagrantly bloody action of earlier instalments.

Ballerina’s revenge plot has none of John Wick’s emotional underpinnings, but de Armas (replacing real life dancer Unity Phelan, who originated the role in Chapter 3) convincingly dispatches plenty of bad guys. Eve may lack the witty panache of her No Time To Die character but de Armas again proves to be a commanding presence depicting a resourceful, steely hit woman. She particularly impresses in the film’s extensive, pummeling fight scenes, wielding everything from landmines to machine guns to hammers and ice skates to defeat her enemies.

While the picture was delayed due to the shooting of additional action scenes (which were helmed by former stuntman Chad Stahleski), it is noticable how flat Ballerina’s non-action sequences are. The screenplay from Shay Hatten, who co-wrote Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, brings back the series’ most memorable supporting characters played by Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane and the late Lance Reddick (who died in 2023), but their appearances are largely perfunctory. Also underwhelming is the film’s ponderous, pseudo-profound dialogue regarding how fate and choice dictate Eve’s destiny. The film is far more satisfying when it drops the pretense and simply embraces its giddy, over-the-top spectacle — especially during an agreeably ridiculous finale that involves a showdown between two characters both brandishing high-octane flamethrowers.

To appease the John Wick faithful, the filmmakers don’t just bring back Reeves’ iconic assassin but also feature him in a strained late-reel faceoff with Eve. Much in the same way that recent Star Wars spinoffs keep carting out Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker, Wick’s arrival smacks of desperation, although Reeves remains serenely balletic in the role. But he doesn’t have much to do, which could be said as well for Byrne, who tries to bring some menace to an underwritten character. The Chancellor isn’t worthy of Eve’s wrath, just like Ballerina isn’t sharp enough to deserve de Armas’s killer performance.