Rent Ballerina on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Shay Hatten, Derek Kolstad (based on characters created by)
Directed by: Len Wiseman
Starring: Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, Lance Reddick
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma organization sets out to seek revenge for her father's death.
Verdict
This is a lesser John Wick imitation in every way. It's a cheap knock off. I didn't expect it to surpass its inspiration, but I hoped it would at least be interesting. The plot is completely flimsy, frequently relying on contrivance. It has a couple of interesting fight scenes, but even the world this creates feels like a poor imitation of the John Wick lore despite being set in the same universe. The movie doesn't even attempt to carry the concept on it's own, bringing in John Wick in an effort to mask flaws. Towards the end I kept wondering how it hadn't ended yet.
Skip it.
Review
An addition to the John Wick universe, we'd be better off without it. This always seems like a knock off of the source material. Atomic Blonde was a much better effort, from the uncredited director of John Wick.
We're presented with an ominous opening of a blood smeared young girl holding a ballerina music box. What follows is a lot of fighting with very little context. This girls father is mixed up in something as their home is attacked. It's easy to surmise this kid is the "ballerina" and this is her introduction into the assassin's life, but the sequence seems pointless. It's the setup that puts her in John Wick's world with a coin and entry into the Continental, but we don't need all of this origin story.
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| Ana de Armas plays Eve |
Eve (Ana de Armas) then joins an assassins' academy, Ruska Roma, where she practices fighting, dancing, and firearms as she trains to become a killer. With the dancing sequence, we see she's determined as she refuses to quit despite the pain and injuries. Later in training, she uses the excuse, "He's too strong." as a reason she loses a fight. It's such tired dialog as the response is always to break the rules and take every advantage. That response propels her to become a champion. She even meets John Wick (Keanu Reeves) at the academy, and that inclusion is forced. It adds nothing other than name recognition and a shout out.
We see her first assignment which isn't easy, but she's tenacious. Months later she's better at the job but encounters someone with a familiar brand. It's the same brand of the people that killed her father. She wants answers which of course puts her in a precarious position. Her handlers tell her not to pursue it, but that's not going to happen. She finds a lead who tells her it's a cult.
This provides a unique setting, with a snowy European looking village. The plot is mindless. We don't know who she's chasing. When she finds the leader, we get a lot of plot contrivance. I wouldn't even call it a reveal as it's so poorly executed.
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| Ana de Armas plays Eve |
Since Eve's mission wasn't approved the Ruska Roma send someone to stop her since the cult threatens retaliation. They send John Wick. Once you bring in Wick, I'm rooting for him. This movie has done nothing to make me care about Eve. I understand her plight, but it's flimsy and contrived. Wick gives her time to complete her mission. Why? He has no stake in her plight. There's no reason he would do that.
The movie makes it difficult to care. Why would John Wick care about helping her? He doesn't know her. Why would he risk his reputation? Really, why does she care? She lives in a world of kill or be killed. She knows why her father was killed, why does she then need to avenge him? This ends with a John Wick inspired feature where she gets a price on her head. I guess she'll be on the run in the next movie. How unimaginative. Hopefully its poor box office performance will prevent a sequel.
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