‘Ballerina’ ★★
½ Cast: Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Angelic Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Monero, Norman Reedus, Juliet Doherty and Lance Reddick. Directed by Len Wiseman; produced by Erica Lee and Chad Stahelski; screenplay by Shay Hatten. A Lionsgate Films release. 125 minutes. Rated R (violence, language). At the AMC Champaign 13 and Savoy 16 IMAX.
One of the best recent scene-stealing moments came in the form of Ana de Armas’ brief appearance in the 2021 James Bond adventure “No Time to Die.” As Cuban CIA agent Paloma, she claims to be fresh-faced spy with only minimal training, then dispatches numerous terrorists with such grace and ease that she elicits a grin from the steely 007. On screen for less than 10 minutes, de Armas made an impression on audiences, so much so that there was talk of giving Paloma her own feature.
Unfortunately, in its stead we have “Ballerina,” an extension of the “John Wick” franchise. Obviously, the producers of the series took note of the de Armas’ work in the Bond film, thinking she had the chops to play the titular assassin. However, “Ballerina” proves to be a curious miscalculation that surprisingly finds her miscast in the role.
Diminutive and girlish, the actress is never convincing as a ruthless, karate-chopping, ice-skate-wielding, flamethrower-toting killer. De Armas is much more adept at delivering the kind of wry self-awareness she brought to Paloma, making the edgy, hard-knuckled world of “John Wick” an ill fit. Whereas Keanu Reeves, who makes an all-too-brief appearance as the series’ protagonist, is able to simultaneously show his tough-guy bona fides but also let us know we shouldn’t take anything his character does seriously, de Armas plays it straight, bringing a flat, serious tone to the role that lands with a thud.
A lackluster prologue explains her character Eve’s raison d’etre. Having witnessed her father die at the hands of a group of assassins led by The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), the orphaned girl is taken in by Wick’s mentor, Winston (Ian McShane), who enrolls her in a ballet academy run by The Director (Anjelica Huston).
Far from pirouettes and pliés, this academy trains its pupils to be assassins, and Eve proves quite adept at killing with impunity. Soon, she’s out on the streets, earning big bucks taking out well-connected ne’er-do-wells or protecting high-value targets. It’s during one of these jobs that she notices one of her victims sports the same markings of those who killed her father. Suddenly, a sense of vengeance overtakes her, and the young woman sets out to kill the men that put her dear old dad 6 feet under.
Screenwriters Shay Hatten and Derek Kolstad are veterans of the “John Wick” series, so it comes as a surprise that the plot here is so threadbare and the dialogue so simplistic. While the stories in the Reeves features are simply an excuse for their imaginative action sequences, at least there’s an attempt to provide a bit of complexity, with an interesting twist happening now and again. Here, no effort is made, the story nothing more than a pastiche of simplistic tropes that are quickly dispensed with, none of them developed.
As such, this makes for an at-times-ponderous viewing experience, as the action sequences — which are these films’ bread and butter — are hit and miss. The ones in the first hour are dull and at times sloppily rendered, director Len Wiseman unable to replicate the sort of slick, imaginative sequences that Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman, concocted as director of the “John Wick” films.
However, things get steadily better as the story progresses. Eve finds an imaginative way to use a case of hand grenades to dispatch a group of bad guys, while her ability to turn a pair of ice skates into lethal weapons is a marvel. Wiseman finds his footing in the third act, embracing the ridiculous with a kitchen duel involving fine china and a missing handgun, while the climactic flamethrower duel is true showstopper. The reaction of her European victims had me wondering if the whole “stop, drop and roll” technique was taught only in American schools.
The franchise veterans, which also include the late Lance Reddick, know what they’re up to regarding how to approach this material. And while Reeves’ presence isn’t felt until the third act, there’s a moment he and de Armas share that’s telling.
During a terse exchange, they’re armed with simple, two- or three-word statements, and while Reeves delivers his lines with thought and intent, getting far more out of the phrase “Just leave” than you can imagine, his counterpart opts for a rushed, obvious delivery. This simple exchange demonstrates just how out of her depth de Armas is here. Coming off as a grade-school thespian at sea cast against professionals, the actress needs to raise both her action chops and acting game for the inevitable sequel.
In the end, far too many steps are missed to make “Ballerina” worthy of the “John Wick” brand.