Ballerina (2025) Movie Review: Ana de Armas Brings Lethal Grace to the Wick-Verse

The John Wick franchise has become synonymous with stylized violence and meticulous world-building, so when Lionsgate announced a spin-off centered on a female assassin, skepticism was understandable. After all, The Continental series failed to capture lightning in a bottle without Keanu Reeves. However, Ballerina, directed by Len Wiseman and starring Ana de Armas as vengeful killer Eve Macarro, proves that this universe still has stories worth telling—even if it takes some time to find its footing.

Released in theaters on June 6, 2025, this action thriller slots itself between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, giving us a window into the Ruska Roma crime family's brutal training grounds. While the film underwent reshoots and production delays that raised red flags, the final product delivers enough inventive carnage and kinetic energy to justify its existence, even if it never quite reaches the heights of the original series.

Story and Screenplay

Ballerina opens with Eve Macarro's tragic origin: witnessing her father's murder at the hands of a shadowy cult led by The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne). Orphaned and alone, she's taken in by The Director (Anjelica Huston), who runs a peculiar operation that transforms ballerinas into deadly weapons. The concept itself borders on the absurd—why exactly does an assassin syndicate need a ballet company as cover?—but within the heightened reality of Wick-world, it somehow fits.

The screenplay, penned by Shay Hatten with uncredited contributions from franchise mastermind Chad Stahelski, follows a familiar revenge template. Eve discovers that the men who killed her father bear distinctive scars, setting her on a collision course with The Chancellor's organization. Along the way, she encounters Daniel Pine (Norman Reedus), an ex-cult member protecting his daughter, creating an obvious parallel to Eve's own trauma.

Here's where the narrative stumbles: the emotional foundation feels rushed and formulaic. While John Wick's inciting incident—the death of his dog—worked because of its simplicity and the film's commitment to that singular motivation, Eve's backstory lacks the same weight. The script treats her father's death as shorthand for character development, assuming audiences will automatically invest without doing the deeper work. We're told to care about this relationship rather than genuinely feeling the loss, which undermines the revenge arc's emotional resonance.

The pacing is uneven, with the first third dragging through obligatory setup. However, once Ballerina finds its rhythm around the midpoint, it transforms into something considerably more entertaining. The plot becomes deliberately playful, subverting expectations about when action sequences will erupt and finding humor in the franchise's established conventions. A clever time-jump sequence shows Eve methodically retrieving her knives from corpses after a nightclub massacre—a darkly comic moment that captures what makes these 2025 films so distinctive.

Acting and Characters

Ana de Armas commits fully to Eve's physical and emotional journey, bringing genuine intensity to every frame. While she lacks the melancholic depth that Reeves brings to John Wick, de Armas channels a different energy—more desperate, less assured, and ultimately more human in her vulnerability. She proved her action credentials in that electrifying sequence from No Time to Die, and here she gets a full two hours to showcase her range. Whether wielding improvised weapons or moving through balletic fight choreography, she commands the screen with undeniable star power.

The supporting cast provides solid grounding. Gabriel Byrne chews scenery with villainous glee as The Chancellor, embracing the material's pulpy excesses. Anjelica Huston returns as The Director, though saddled with an inconsistent Russian accent that occasionally distracts. Norman Reedus fits seamlessly into the Wick-verse aesthetic, and his presence suggests potential for future installments. Ian McShane reprises his role as Winston with his characteristic world-weary charm, while Lance Reddick appears in what would become his final film performance. Reddick's warmth and gravitas shine through in every scene, lending emotional weight to an otherwise mechanics-focused narrative.

And yes, Keanu Reeves shows up—more than the marketing initially suggested. Rather than a brief cameo, Wick factors meaningfully into the story, including an intriguing confrontation with Eve that feels almost meta-textual. It's as if Wick himself is reluctant to interfere with someone else's narrative, acknowledging that this is her story to tell. The chemistry between Reeves and de Armas works surprisingly well, particularly when they square off in combat.

Direction and Technical Aspects

Len Wiseman, known for the Underworld series, steps in for Chad Stahelski, and while hardcore franchise fans might detect subtle differences in approach, the overall aesthetic remains intact. Whether Wiseman or Stahelski (who oversaw reshoots) deserves primary credit for the finished product remains unclear, but the result maintains the series' signature visual language.

The cinematography embraces the neo-noir palette that defines the Wick-verse: neon-soaked nightclubs, snow-covered Austrian villages, and meticulously designed interiors that feel both luxurious and menacing. There's a deliberate contrast between the elegant world of ballet and the visceral brutality of assassination, though the film could have explored this thematic tension more deeply. We see precious little actual ballet incorporated into the fight choreography—a missed opportunity for something truly unique.

The action sequences themselves are where Ballerina truly excels. After a somewhat pedestrian opening act filled with standard combat, the film explodes into inspired mayhem. Eve doesn't rely on the precise gun-fu that defines Wick's style; instead, she improvises with whatever's available. Remote controls, dinner plates, ice skates, garden hoses, and yes, flamethrowers all become instruments of destruction. One standout sequence involves grenades and strategically placed iron doors that had me simultaneously cringing and laughing—exactly the reaction these films should provoke.

The production design maintains the franchise's obsessive attention to detail, from the Continental's opulent interiors to the cult's ominous headquarters. Every location feels lived-in and purposeful, contributing to the sense that we're glimpsing a hidden world operating beneath our own.

Music and Atmosphere

The score follows the franchise template, mixing electronic beats with orchestral swells that punctuate the violence. While not as immediately memorable as some earlier entries, the music effectively builds tension and releases it in sync with the choreographed chaos.

What stands out more is the sound design during action sequences. Every punch, gunshot, and improvised weapon lands with bone-crunching clarity. The filmmakers understand that action movies are as much about what you hear as what you see, and they've crafted an audio landscape that makes violence feel consequential rather than cartoonish.

The atmosphere shifts between darkly comic and genuinely tense. The film finds humor in its own conventions—a scene where Eve visits an arms supplier riffs beautifully on franchise expectations, while various characters deliver dialogue with the gravitas typically reserved for Shakespearean tragedy. ("He's only one man!" screams a doomed henchman, apparently unaware of what universe he's inhabiting.) The tone walks a fine line between self-aware and self-serious, occasionally stumbling but mostly sticking the landing.

Oddly, the credits feature not one but two Evanescence songs, giving the whole enterprise an unexpected Elektra-adjacent vibe that feels more early-2000s than contemporary. It's a curious choice that doesn't quite match the film's aesthetic, though longtime fans of that band won't mind.

Strengths and Weaknesses

What Works:

• Ana de Armas proves herself a worthy addition to the franchise, bringing physical commitment and emotional presence
• The second half delivers genuinely inventive action sequences that rival the main series
• Improvised weapon usage creates memorable, darkly comic moments (the grenade sequence, kitchen battles, flamethrower duels)
• Visual design maintains the franchise's high standards for neo-noir aesthetics
• Strategic humor that understands audience expectations and subverts them effectively
• Keanu Reeves' presence feels organic rather than forced
• Lance Reddick's final performance adds poignancy
• The film stands on its own while respecting franchise continuity

What Doesn't Work:

• The first third drags with formulaic setup and insufficient emotional groundwork
• Eve's backstory lacks the impact needed to justify her revenge arc
• Minimal integration of ballet into fight choreography feels like a missed opportunity
• The plot is simultaneously too thin and unnecessarily complicated
• Dialogue often borders on self-parody without fully committing to that approach
• Anjelica Huston's inconsistent accent proves distracting
• The imperiled child subplot feels like generic action-movie shorthand
• Unclear world-building around the ballet company's actual purpose
• Some forced feminism nods ("fight like a girl") lack meaningful follow-through

Final Verdict

Ballerina earns its 3.5-star rating by eventually delivering what fans want from a John Wick movie: creative violence, stylish cinematography, and commitment to its heightened reality. The film takes too long to reach its stride, burdened by an opening act that checks boxes without generating genuine investment. However, once it embraces its pulpy nature and lets Ana de Armas loose with an arsenal of improvised weapons, it becomes genuinely entertaining.

This isn't essential viewing in the way the original John Wick films are, nor does it achieve the surprising elegance those movies found in their simplicity. The emotional core never quite solidifies, and you can feel the reshoots and rewrites in the occasionally muddled narrative logic. Yet for audiences who simply want more time in this meticulously crafted world of assassins, codes, and consequences, Ballerina provides satisfying returns.

Who Should Watch It:

• Devoted fans of the John Wick franchise who want another helping
• Ana de Armas enthusiasts curious to see her action range
• Anyone craving inventive, well-choreographed violence with a sense of humor
• Viewers who appreciate stylized action over realism
• Those who enjoy world-building and mythology in their action films

Who Might Skip It:

• Audiences seeking deep emotional storytelling or complex characters
• Viewers sensitive to graphic violence (this earns its R rating)
• Anyone expecting genuine innovation rather than competent variation
• Those who found the later Wick sequels too excessive
• People looking for significant ballet integration beyond aesthetic window dressing

Ultimately, Ballerina succeeds as a 2025 action film that expands the franchise without embarrassing it. The production troubles could have resulted in disaster, but what emerged is a bloody, occasionally brilliant, consistently watchable spin-off that suggests this world still has room for new stories—provided they're told with this level of craft and commitment. Eve Macarro may not replace John Wick in our hearts, but she's carved out her own space in his shadow, and that's achievement enough.