Lionsgate is back with a spinoff of the John Wick universe called Ballerina. Coming off the success of the first 4 films, the studio is looking to capitalize on an expanded universe built by John Wick (Reeves) and cast.

Ballerina is an upcoming American action thriller film that is the fifth film in the John Wick franchise, serving as a spin-off set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4.

Review

Led by Ana de Armas, Ballerina follows Eve, a young woman whose father protects her from a tribe unwilling to let her go. Instead, she crosses paths with Winston and joins the Ruska Roma to train and become a protector of the innocent and an assassin. Set in the John Wick universe, we see familiar faces—including Winston and Charon at the New York Continental Hotel, and the Director of the Ruska Roma. At one point, we even revisit the events at the end of John Wick: Chapter 3, with John Wick (Keanu Reeves) himself making an appearance.

Despite all the world-building the films and franchise have done, Ballerina ditches the proven formula in favor of a convoluted backstory and a revenge plot that just doesn’t make much sense. As a new assassin, Eve’s early missions are clunky and awkward, which would be fine in context—but as the film goes on, the fight scenes and her actions start to undermine everything Wick worked so hard to establish.

It might sound like nitpicking, but one thing the John Wick films rarely get wrong is the creative use of weapons—anything nearby, anything dropped by an enemy. Not for Eve, though. She abandons all of that in favor of grenades or a knife-gun (or is it a gun-knife?). So many grenades. And they’re used in ways that defy even the most generous suspension of disbelief. Add in some sloppy editing in key fight scenes, and you really have to wonder if the director has even seen a John Wick movie.

The film’s main antagonist, played by Gabriel Byrne, comes off as barely threatening and borderline comical. His tribe’s entire concept feels forced and flimsy from a storytelling perspective. On top of that, the costume and production design lack a consistent visual tone, making the movie feel visually bland and generic.

In the end, Ballerina is dragged down by an incoherent plot and messy editing—turning what should have been a gritty addition to the John Wick universe into something closer to an accidental comedy. Not even John Wick himself could save this one.

Courtesy of Lionsgate