Director: Len Wiseman

Stars: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Ian McShane, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Normal Reedus

The John Wick series gets a much-needed shot in the arm with this fun and frantic spinoff, set between episodes three and four.

It opens with ballet-loving child Eve Macarro (Victoria Comte) witnessing her father being gunned down by the loathsome Chancellor (Byrne), the leader of a centuries-old cult.

Eve is taken under the wing of Winston Scott (series regular McShane) proprietor of The Continental Hotel, the neutral space for criminals and trained killers. He in turn places her under the care of The Director (Huston, hamming it amusingly) the severe leader of the Ruska Roma ballet/assassin school.

Jump to years later where the grown-up Eve (de Armas) has finalised her training and is on her first assignment. After she kills a heavy with an X tattoo on his wrist, just like the Chancellor’s, Eve resolves to track down the cult and avenge her father. However, the Director explains to her that the Ruska Roma have a pact to stay out of each other’s business and avenging her father would spell all-out war. Eve refuses, and as the bodies pile up, John Wick is despatched to intervene.

Director Len Wiseman keeps events moving along at a keen pace and pretty much manages to maintain the momentum over a slightly extended two-hour running time. The hyperviolent fight scenes, involving everything from plates to, most outrageously, flamethrowers, are suitably balletic and elaborate, and augmented by the crunchy, squelchy sound design. Big nineties-naughties vibes too from the murky lighting and trip-hopish soundtrack. De Armas, building on her role as the tough elegant spy Paloma in ‘No Time to Die’, makes an impressively gutsy heroine.

Ballerina is released 5th June

David Willoughby

Follow David on Bluesky @davidwilloughby.bsky.social