From the World of John Wick: Ballerina 2025



 From the World of John Wick: Ballerina

“But, we all live with the decisions we make”

“It is two sides to the same coin, to kill to save.”

“In the end, we are who we are.”
-From The World of John Wick: Ballerina

The John Wick franchise is action cinema at its most streamlined and eloquent. The films are built on the strength of an often overlooked discipline of the creative filmmaking process, choreography. The structure of an action sequence is as much a part of its impact as the stunts or the violence depicted. In fact, now that I think about it, one of this franchise's greatest skills is that it brings out the beauty inherent in these mesmerizing dances of death. The action sequences are the story, and the violence is its thematic core.
That's not to say that these films glorify killing, far from it in fact. A consistent counterpoint to John Wick's world of suave assassins, is a desire to escape this world of death dealing, and so it is with Ballerina. Eve's adrenaline laced ballet with vengeance encapsulates it all, from the eloquence of the kill to the pinpoint precision of the choreography. Ballerina whittles down the essentials of the John Wick saga to their exhilarating, precision infused core. while adding another wonderfully wrinkle to the franchise's central dilemma. Does our past define us, or can we escape and become something better?
All told, Ballerina is far more than the sum of its parts. If you think that's a slight against its quality, I assure you it's not, it's a compliment through and through. A quintessential aspect of any great action film is that all its parts move as one. So, as with its elder brothers, Ballerina is a prime example of how to open the action bottle, and find the lightning within.
Joy seems to emanate from every stunt, bloody squib and choreographed bullet in this film. It is sure simplicity that makes Ballerina shine, and there is nothing wrong with that. Director Len Wiseman and his team grant us an exhilarating glimpse into the world of honor bound assassins. All, while asking us the abiding question: are we more than the sum of our broken parts, or are we trapped in the traumas of our past? In this case, the choice is yours.

Rated R for strong/bloody violence throughout, and language.

I found Ballerina to be visually captivating, exquisitely designed and entertainingly thought-provoking. I hope in some way you do too.

From The World of John Wick: Ballerina is currently in theaters

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