Ballerina Review
Yes, I'm a little late but I finally saw Ballerina starring Ana De Armas. This takes places somewhere in between John Wick Chapter 3 & Chapter 4. Ballerina is a revenge story about a young woman named Eve Macarro who is on a journey to seek out the men who killed her father. Ana De Armas has had a streak of bad films over the last couple of years and thankfully this one turned it around for her.
The action sequences are a lot of fun and it's rare we got a fleshed out backstory in an action film about our protagonist. Usually, it's just dialogue about the protagonist past and why they don’t kill anymore and etc. However, Ballerina we get at least about 20 minutes to spend on Eve as a child before we see her in the training room.
There wasn't really enough time spent on Eve's ballerina which I wish they could've done more with. The training room really showed Eve how to constantly look over her shoulder and use everything to her advantage. I also really appreciate the film for explaining how a 5 foot something woman can use her height disadvantage do take down a man that is physically stronger and taller than her. That's something that's glossed over a lot in films and I really like that they took time out to acknowledge this.
First of all, if you’re worried about Keanu Reeves taking up too much screen time from the Ana De Armas and her story then don’t be. This might be his last outing as John Wick so with the limited amount of screen time he has I was just pleased with every minute we got of him. He isn't necessarily needed for the story, however, when he does show up it's for a good reason and he doesn't overstay his welcome.
The Chancellor as a villain is, “meh”. He's not bad, but he's just the master mind behind the curtain. I think the problem with a lot of villains like him is that they have their henchmen do all the work and when we finally do see the showdown between the protagonist/antagonist of the film then it's completely one sided. I just wish The Chancellor was a physically intimidating as some other action villains.
There is also a plot twist in the movie that I didn't see coming at all. I’m still on the fence about it. It wasn't necessarily mind blowing but it did catch me off guard. With that being said I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this and I can't wait to watch it again.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
