Ballerina

Official Australian release date: 5/6/25. Viewed: 16/6/25.
Director: Len Wiseman
Actors: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Ian McShane
Genre: Action
Rating: MA

‘Ballerina’, or effectively ‘John Wick 3.5’, is another stylish assassins killing assassins entry in the series. We see what shapes Eve (de Armas) as a child, ending up in the care of the Director (Huston) & the Ruska Roma. From there it’s a pretty simple training montage and learning curve for Eve. We have cameos from de-aged/hair-dyed Winston (McShane) and the Chancellor (Byrne), as well as Charon (Reddick).

De Armas is good and walks a fine line between being a kick-ass fighter/dancer with no fear, and showing some vulnerability and emotion. She certainly takes some beatings here, but dishes out even more. She doesn’t seem as invulnerable as John Wick, but since it’s the same universe, it does seem like she can take more damage/injuries than any regular human. Plenty of inventive deaths in this one, particularly a few with grenades, flamethrowers and more ice skate deaths than there’s been since ‘Sudden Death’!

Has a bit more humour and wittiness than some other ‘John Wick’s, and is relatively short at 2 hours. The final act set all in a lakeside town in Czechia is all a bit farfetched, and this is where Reeves has his cameo, but it certainly ups the ante and body count. While there’s a small, not-that-surprising twist, it all wraps up well. Wouldn’t mind seeing more of Eve & John together in additional films.

Overall: Another stylish over-the-top kill-em-all

Gav’s Rating: 3.5 stars