Ballerina

Put away your tutus and dance slippers and break out your ballistic vests, because we’re going to the ballet. That’s right. This isn’t Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, this is Ballerina from the World of John Wick. Although, if I ever had to battle a Sugar Plum Fairy in real life, objectively, I’d probably want a protective vest. But if the question is whether this ballet is worth the trip to the theater, then let’s take a look.

The Wick franchise is known for bringing creative new action to the big screen and Ballerina did not disappoint. I’ve seen gun fights, knife fights and even pillow fights, but (until now) I’ve never seen a grenade fight!! Or a gunfight with simultaneous flamethrower fight in the other hand. Yep, that’s a thing now.

Some may argue that the plot was too simple, but I felt like the film added to the lore of the John Wick universe without undoing or taking anything away from the previous films, and I greatly appreciate that. We got to see some of the training and learned about other groups of this dark underworld. Learning more about this world and great action is what I want from this franchise, and I feel like I got both with Ballerina…so me ok with simple plot.

As for the dislikes, because John Wick casts a very big shadow in this world I found myself at times comparing this film’s lead to John Wick. I don’t think there is anything the filmmakers could’ve done to change that, because this was likely a me problem. Nevertheless, I found myself making those comparisons at moments instead of being lost in the film. Despite this small gripe, we’re still giving this our “Go to Theater to See” rating because it’s a fun watch, and if nothing else, it’s cheaper than going to an actual ballet.

🍿= Go to Theater to See