by G. E. Uke, Reporter

When John Wick’s story ended with the fourth movie…I was pretty heartbroken. 

Not just because I loved those movies and the world they created, but because I feared that there would be no more of that particular good thing. It always sucks when you learn that a good thing is gone. Life needs as many good things as it can get. When I discovered Ballerina would be set in that universe, I was cautiously optimistic. I thought that, like most continuations, it might be a lesser story. An attempt to cash in on nostalgia for old and now-departed magic. 

Nope. Nope, nope, nope. A whole lot of nope. 

When I left the theater that night, I was shaking like a can of coke left in a rock tumbler. I stan for this movie. I stan so hard that my exuberant pacing now wears furrows through the Earth’s crust, imperiling us all with the threat of volcanic winter. And now, gentle reader, I will impart that frenetic energy upon all of you. 

To say that Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) is a worthy successor to the mantle of John Wick is like saying Miles Morales is a worthy successor to Peter Parker (which he is, fight me). The character is great, the ambiance is right on point, John Wick himself makes an appearance to spiritually pass the torch on to her, and her capacity to look fabulous while taking an absurd beating battling through hordes of well dressed thugs is…it’s there. It’s right there. That energy, that mood, that dynamism, is back. And now we guys have a slick syndicate murder WOMAN to stare at, cause it’s our turn. Pass the M&M eye candy tray. Like we don’t have enough advantages in life. 

Ballerina is the sort of movie that you need to watch twice, to catch all the little details and clues that get glossed over during bombastic fight scenes the first time. It is evocative, action packed, and continues to develop the world John Wick pioneered. Without giving away spoilers, the story follows the life of a girl named Eve Macarro whose father was killed by a cult of assassins that participate in the elaborate underworld of ritual and prestation created by the high table. She joins the Ruska Roma (the Mafia that trained John Wick), trains as a bodyguard, grows up, and sets off on a mission of vengeance and investigation that makes Lone Wolf and Cub look like a petting zoo. 

The acting in this movie was superb all around. Ian McShane reprises his role as the Continental hotel manager Winston Scott, Angelica Huston returns as the Director of the Ruska Roma, and the big bad villain of the movie is played by Gabriel Byrne in his role as The Chancellor of the cult. They also used some old footage and really impressive CGI to briefly resurrect Lance Reddick as Charon, and this made me sentimental. Keanu Reeves himself returns as John Wick to get into a terrific fight with Eve, and it is very satisfying. Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) plays a great assassin turned dad named Pine, who gets little screen time but is integral to the plot. This is one of those movies where the acting is so good all around that you can’t really give anyone a shout-out because doing so might diminish the others. And I don’t want to do that. 

I find no fault with this movie. At all. Normally I can poke holes at most films or at least offer constructive criticism, but it is faithful to its genre and nothing about it was ill conceived or extraneous. Anyone criticizing this film can only do so by saying that it was not what *they* personally wanted in some respect, which is inherently selfish and irrelevant. Also, there’s a flamethrower duel so…that invalidates all other arguments. I’m also particularly impressed by how the character of Eve Macarro managed to be strong and distinctly feminine, but not sexualized. She is attractive because of what she IS, not because she attempts to be so. Wonder Woman’s current iteration is cut from similar cloth. 

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Ballerina 5 out of 5 stars, but that’s only because I cannot give it more (and I lament that).

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