Ballerina (2025)

The film Ballerina lives in the world of John Wick and you may be wondering why this geek decided to see a film that doesn't have the normal geeky features that we cover here. Very simple answer there, because Keanu Reeves and Norman Reedus are in it duh. These two actors have done so much in the world of geek movies that they can easily attract geeks to see movies outside of their normal genres just to see the range of their acting. 

The movie itself revolves around the character of Eve and her entrance into the violent world of assassins and protectors. Her upbring is shown and reminded me of what the Black Widow and her sister experienced in the Red Room. The young girls are trained on everything from ballet, to martial arts, to weapons. Once they prove themselves (also reminded me of Yelena's flashbacks in the Thunderbolts) they then can start going on assignments. At the same time Eve has a past that she is trying to figure out and goes rogue to find the answers she is seeking.

As someone that has done ballet I was actually glad that they showed the damage that toe shoes can do to a dancers feet. I feel like this helped to make it realistic for the people in the know and then could also educate the general audience on the damage that dancers do to their bodies.

The movie is massively violent and bloody. You get everything from exploding heads to flamethrower action. I will say that the special effects team did an amazing time with all of the kills and must not have slept throughout the film production process because of just how many kills there were and how detailed they were. I can also say that the stunt crew for this film should get an Oscar for their work now that there is an Oscar to recognize their work, but at the same time the people that run the Oscars have no idea what they are doing anyway so this film will probably be overlooked.

For the acting it overall was good. Ana de Armas, as Eve, was a little stiff, but at the same time it also made sense with the character's background. I have seen others criticize her being cast in the lead role, but I just don't understand their complaints. Keanu Reeves was in the film all be it in a limited way. At least we get to see him do some fighting and he continues the same moral compass that he displayed in the other films. Norman Reedus was a little bit of a disappointment though. It is not due to his acting ability, but due to the super short screen time he is given in this film. I think that his character could have been vastly interesting if they would have done more with it. His character could also fill in some gaps of information that was still missing at the film's conclusion. Like why was the one group referred to as a cult instead of an organization. Key info about this and why they were detested so much within the world of John Wick never did come out. Unless they are planning a second movie that can help fill in that info, the film makers dropped the ball on making a complete idea.

I would recommend this movie to people who love action movies and movies that come up with creative ways to kill people... so if you liked the Terrifier movies this could be your thing. 4 stars out of 5 or an A-.      

Pictures from the sneak peek:

Picture 1 From: https://www.joblo.com/ballerina-character-posters/

Picture 2 From: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7181546/

Picture 3 From: https://www.cgomovies.co.uk/2025/02/02/ballerina-2025-a-new-chapter-in-the-john-wick-universe/

Picture 4 From: https://screenrant.com/ballerina-keanu-reeves-real-john-wick-task-op-ed/

Picture 5 From: https://edwarddouglas.substack.com/p/ballerina-review?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Picture 6 From: https://www.regmovies.com/movie-news/john-wick-ballerina-and-the-history-of-gun-fu

Picture 7 From: https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2025/3/24/from-the-world-of-john-wick-ballerina-new-trailer-for-spinoff-showcases-prague-locations/

#ballerina #ballerinamovie #johnwick #moviereview