Ballerina (2025)

Release Date: June 6, 2025
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves, Lance Reddick, Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston

The Plot: John Wick’s Bloody Ballet Dances On

Okay, where do I even start? As a massive John Wick fan, I honestly thought the saga wrapped up perfectly after Chapter 4 and that emotional (well, kinda emotional) sendoff. So when I first heard Ballerina was a spinoff, my hype was… lukewarm at best. Ana de Armas? Seriously? Don’t get me wrong—she’s a solid actress with chops, but I couldn’t see her fitting into the gritty, relentless gun-fu chaos that defines the Wick universe. Up until now, nothing about her screamed “lethal assassin.”

Well, I was so dead wrong it hurts.

Ana absolutely kills it. I just finished watching and my adrenaline is still through the roof after nearly two hours of relentless, bone-crunching mayhem. This movie doesn’t politely ease you in—it throws you headfirst into a hailstorm of bullets, brutal hand-to-hand combat, and jaw-dropping choreography.

Set firmly between John Wick: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, the film smartly uses a flashback sequence early on (any true fans will recognize the recycled footage from Chapter 3) to lock itself into the timeline. The story follows Eve—a ballerina-turned-assassin who sets off on a ruthless revenge mission after her family is slaughtered by a network of powerful Eastern European crime syndicates. She returns to the shadowy corners of the High Table world, hunting down those responsible one by one, while uncovering deeper secrets behind her father's murder along the way.

The story follows Eve—a ballerina-turned-assassin driven by raw revenge after the brutal murder of her father by rival crime syndicates. Simple premise? Sure. But don’t let that fool you—there are twists and turns that keep you fully locked in, no snooze moments here.

The pacing? Relentless. Fights don’t just happen—they explode everywhere: from pulsing nightclubs to snow-dusted forests and eerie candlelit crypts. Imagine the John Wick universe through the eyes of a fierce female assassin—with just enough backstory to make you care about Eve’s journey, but never so much that it slows the pulse-pounding chaos. It’s pure, unfiltered action bliss.

The Cast: Armas Has Entered the Chat

Ana de Armas silences every doubter with this one. I’m not even exaggerating. She trained like hell for this role, and it shows. You can see how much work went into every sequence—she’s throwing kicks, catching punches, getting absolutely wrecked at times, and still coming out swinging.

What I loved most is that they didn’t make her some untouchable, perfect killing machine. She gets beat up. She struggles. She earns every win. That’s what made it feel believable—she’s not Wick-level yet, and the movie owns that.

Keanu Reeves returns briefly as John Wick, and I mean—come on. He is the franchise. His scenes toward the end hit hard, especially the way he steps in during the final act (no spoilers, but yes, he still is that guy). There’s a bit of a mentor moment between him and Rooney that hits just right.

Ian McShane’s Winston and Anjelica Huston’s High Table-connected matriarch also return, grounding the film in the original lore. Lance Reddick has a short but memorable appearance too, and I really wish they had included a proper tribute to him somewhere—I might’ve missed it, but it felt like a missed opportunity.

The Vibe: Snowy Nightclubs, Flamethrowers, and a Lot of Dead Bodies

Let’s talk about the vibe, because it’s a whole thing—and arguably the film’s biggest flex.

Ballerina doesn’t just borrow the signature aesthetic from the mainline John Wick films—it pushes it into even more surreal, stylized territory. Think: neon-drenched underground rave scenes, ancient crypts bathed in candlelight, and blood soaking into fresh snowfall. It’s brutal and beautiful. The color palettes are mood-board-worthy, drenched in icy blues, deep reds, and flickers of firelight that make every shot feel painterly and visceral.

The snowy graveyard fight? Unreal. It’s haunting, gorgeously shot, and features some of the most physically demanding choreography in the entire franchise. Eve is absolutely feral in this scene, sliding across icy gravestones while dodging hatchets and bullets in a ballet of violence. It’s poetic carnage.

Then there’s the nightclub fight—an all-out brawl that spills across multiple levels of the club while strobe lights flicker and pounding bass drowns out the chaos. And yeah, let’s talk about that hilarious detail: people just keep dancing. Like, full-blown shootouts are happening, bodies are dropping, and the crowd barely flinches. Is it realistic? Absolutely not. Is it awesome? Completely. It’s this surreal, hyperreal tone that keeps the John Wick universe feeling unique—and this spinoff doubles down on that rulebook.

And yes, there’s a flamethrower. At one point Ana de Armas literally torches a dozen assassins like she’s in a post-apocalyptic video game. It’s one of those moments where you just sit back and say, “Yep. This is exactly what I signed up for.”

The sound design deserves props too—gunshots crack like thunder, bones snap with gut-churning realism, and the soundtrack punches every action beat with club anthems and eerie classical pieces. If Wick was high-octane art-house action, Ballerina is its wilder, more unpredictable cousin.

Public Feedback: Wick Fans Are Eating This Up

So far, reviews have been mostly positive. It’s sitting at a 78% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.1/10 on IMDb as of opening weekend. A lot of fans are calling it the best spinoff yet, and honestly, I agree.

Social media is buzzing about Ana’s transformation. Even the people who were skeptical (like me) are walking away impressed. Twitter’s full of clips from the snow fight, the nightclub beatdown, and that flamethrower moment. TikTok edits are already popping off with people comparing Eve's journey to John’s.

There are some critiques too—mainly about the nightclub scenes being a bit too extra and the plot feeling thin in spots. But when you're signing up for a John Wick movie, you're here for chaos, not Shakespeare.

Controversy: Is This Franchise Getting Too Big?

One of the only real criticisms floating around is whether Ballerina adds something new or just repeats the formula with a fresh face. Some critics argue the Wick universe is getting a little bloated between The Continental, Ballerina, and the teased Chapter 5.

But here’s the thing: this one earns its spot. It doesn’t feel like a cash grab. Ana brings something fresh, and the film isn’t trying to out-Wick John—it’s carving its own lane. There’s room in this universe for different types of assassins, and Eve proves that.

The only real “what were they thinking?” moment for me is how casual everyone is in the club scenes. Like, full-on gunfire and body bags, and the DJ’s still spinning? I get it—it’s the Wick aesthetic, but it’s borderline comedy at this point.

The Ending: One Mission Ends, Another Begins

Let’s get into the finale—no spoilers, of course—but I have to talk about the energy this movie leaves you with.

The final act cranks everything up to eleven. It’s a sprawling, intense showdown that sees Eve pushed to her absolute limits—mentally and physically. We see a woman broken, cornered, and still clawing her way through waves of trained killers. She’s not untouchable, and the film doesn’t pretend she is. Every hit she takes feels earned, every win even more so. It’s raw, it’s messy, and it’s emotional.

The choreography in the climax is tighter, more intimate. The action slows down just enough in key moments to let the impact sink in—especially in her one-on-one fight with a masked assassin who mirrors her ballet training. It’s like Black Swan meets The Raid, and it’s the first time we truly see Eve’s inner rage boil over into something terrifying and personal.

And then, in true Wick-verse fashion, John Wick himself shows up.

His arrival is brief but powerful. It’s not just a cameo—it’s a passing of the torch. The way he interacts with Eve isn’t flashy or melodramatic. It’s subtle. There's a weight to their few words, a mutual respect that says: You’re not there yet—but you will be.

The very last scene sets up a larger arc for Eve. She’s not just walking away into the sunset—she’s deeper in than ever before. The High Table knows her name now. The underworld has taken notice. And just like that, a new chapter begins.

It ends with the same restless energy that Chapter 3 did—a sense of unfinished business, of wars brewing in the shadows. There’s no peace, no real victory. Just survival... and revenge with a side of existential dread. And somehow, it leaves you wanting more.

If they don’t greenlight a Ballerina 2, it’ll be a crime. Eve is ready. And so are we.

Final Thoughts: One of the Best Spinoffs in the Franchise

Ballerina isn’t just a decent spinoff—it’s one of the best entries in the John Wick universe, period. Ana de Armas steps up in a big way, and while the story isn’t perfect, it nails the tone, the action, and the vibe we all love from the franchise.

The visuals are killer, the fight scenes are brutal, and the pacing barely lets you catch your breath. And yeah, a few parts are ridiculous (still laughing at people casually dancing during a full-blown massacre), but that’s part of the charm.

I came in unsure. I left hyped.

Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Brutal, slick, and surprisingly emotional—Ballerina proves Ana de Armas isn’t just part of the John Wick world… she might just lead its future.

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