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The following contains minor spoilers for Ballerina.
I am an unapologetic fan of all things John Wick. I’ve seen all the movies. I’ve been to the Las Vegas Continental. I love the Keanu Reeves-led franchise, and so the fact that we’re not only going to get more John Wick sequels, but prequels and multiple spinoffs, makes me a happy guy. As such, I was very much looking forward to seeing the first of those spinoffs, the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina.
Overall, I think Ballerina was a solid effort. The action sequences, while not quite up to the same standard as the John Wick films, were still well done, with a few really standout moments. Ana de Armas held her own throughout the film, as so many of us hoped she would. But while Ballerina was a solid action movie, I felt it was lacking as a John Wick film, and not because it didn’t have enough Keanu Reeves.
Ballerina’s Villains Are Less Interesting Because They’re Outside The Rules
Ballerina introduces a new group of professional murderers that had not been previously mentioned in the John Wick movies. The group is referred to as a cult, and the description is proven to be apt as they all live together, insulated from the rest of the world.
But what sets them apart from the rest of the characters we know is that this cult does not operate within the rules that have previously been established. It’s made clear that this cult has something of an uneasy peace with the world that exists under High Table. They’re given access to High Table resources like the Continental, but mostly so that world can keep an eye on them.
We see how this new group operates when they attempt to manipulate the High Table assassins into carrying out a killing on the grounds of the Continental. In the end, when that doesn’t quite work, they have no problem pulling triggers themselves and “doing business” on hotel grounds.
While I love Gabriel Byrne, and was excited to see him in Ballerina, I found the villains of the movie boring because operating outside the rules simply means we can ignore the rules, and the rules are what make the World of John Wick special.
The Rules Are What Makes The World Of John Wick Interesting And Unique
If you’re going to create a new story set in the World of John Wick, it needs to take the rules of the world into account. Those rules might be limiting in some ways, but that simply means finding creative ways to use the rules (or to embellish them) in order to make the story work.
Even Ballerina does this a little. When Ana de Armas’ character is threatened with death for breaking the rules, she points out she was only ever defending herself, and that she never actually killed anybody on Continental grounds. The rule against “conducting business” is suitably vague enough that this works.
With another major spinoff, Caine, starring Donnie Yen, on the way, as well as an animated John Wick prequel. I hope the new films take a lesson from Ballerina and not follow in these footsteps. Don’t ignore the rules; instead, find creative ways to use them that will make your action and your story more interesting.
The rules of the John Wick universe are far from clear, and they’re more than a little bizarre. The gold coin-based economy makes basically no sense, but I don’t care. The rules are what make John Wick movies different from other action movies, and as we see more sequels and spinoffs, and whatever else in the John Wick universe, I hope we see more movies that find interesting ways to use the rules, and not simply ignore them.