Ballerina Movie Review: Rides high on aggression and panache
There is a flamethrower duel in Ballerina that culminates in a way that could only be described as visual poetry. Anyways. Between a generic prologue and a uncharacteristically tepid ending, the film is burgeoning with infectious energy. It's not when the punches land, knife plunges, or guns fire, that we feel the apparent intensity. It is during the quiet moments when Ana de Armas' Eve pauses to catch a breath, tends to her wounds, and fails for the hundredth time to get back again, that we feel the simmering heat of Eve's unstoppable will. Her stoic perseverance to go up against seemingly improbable odds acts like an untameable Formula One car as it navigates the dangerous contours and difficult terrains of the progressively developing action set pieces. The result is an unceasing dosage of adrenaline straight to the heart for two hours.
Director: Len Wiseman
Cast: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Lance Reddick, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves
Unlike the John Wick films, in Ballerina, we begin with Eve's past; her father is ruthlessly hunted down by a mysterious group and she is raised to be an assassin by the rigid ways of the Ruska Roma. However, we do get traces of the John Wick films' DNA, but it is never overpowering. The neon aesthetics, subtle hints at the humungous network of assassins, diligent adherence to rules, and the signature magazine flip gun reload. They serve to accentuate the film rather than remind you of its roots to the mother franchise. The only exception to this rule is when John Wick returns for a second cameo towards the end, which betrays the effortless charm of the first cameo appearance. But by then, you are already invested in Eve's story, her unstoppable crusade to avenge her family is replete with creatively designed stunts that brim with childlike glee. The film, however, is not a mindless chain of stunts. Even before the Ruska Roma unleashes Eve into the real world, we see her tenacity building up, her aggression being reinforced to fight IQ, and the philosophy of her character is laid out. This makes up for the lack of emotional depth in the character and anchors our perspective to the protagonist. Eve shows how you don't need to know the entire emotional bandwidth of a character to empathise with them. We understood the laser-like unbending will of John Wick by seeing how he prepared to take down an entire army of assassins to avenge his puppy (Even if it's not 'just' a puppy). Here, Eve's core personality is revealed not through a training montage or a tattoo reveal. She is practising ballet, fails and raises to perfect her pirouette for the hundredth time, and the stage is stained with her blood. And that's how we know she will stop at nothing, even the Baba Yaga, to get what she wants.
Ballerina might have the most gorgeous lighting put to film in recent times. Towards the end, when the story moves to a snowy, hillside landscape, the makers go all out to play with searchlights and the dark of the night, punctuated by gunfire and flamethrower discharge at regular intervals. There are micro-subversions in how every stunt plays out as well. The tension doesn't build or snap when you would typically expect it to, the guns start firing just a second before you think they would and that amps up the adrenaline rush. Every action set piece, and close combat sequences, are choreographed with the grace and precision of a ballet dance and the aggressive intensity of a high-speed car chase.
Ballerina tries to pack all its extraordinary stunts into a larger theme, there is an interesting commentary on fate and how choices still shape our road to that inevitability. While it is satisfactorily woven into the story, it is not nearly as interesting as everything else the film has to offer. And whether you enjoy the film or not largely depends on whether or not that is a deal-breaker for you. There is a tedious sequel bait, a passable, functional story to glue everything together, but what Ballerina offers is everything best about the world of John Wick, unblemished, with the added charm of Ana de Armas.
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