"The film begins with the same setup as a hundred other revenge thrillers: A young girl, Eve Macarro, sees her father gunned down by a group of mysterious assassins."
"For much of Ballerina's two-hour run time, I bemoaned that the film seemed to be a Wick clone without any of the stylistic flair."
"Unlike the mysterious, mythic Wicks, Ballerina lacks much intrigue-especially during its first two acts, when the viewer watches Eve go through training."
"Wick became the face of a billion-dollar franchise because of the strange, darkly cartoonish universe around him."
The John Wick franchise's success stems from its rich, darkly cartoonish universe rather than its simple vengeance plot. The spin-off film Ballerina, featuring Ana de Armas, struggles to capture this essence. It begins with a typical revenge setup—Eve witnessing her father's murder—but fails to bring unique flair akin to the original films. While De Armas adds charm through her performance, much of Ballerina resembles a generic Wick clone, lacking the intrigue and depth that have made the franchise beloved during its first two acts.
Read at The Atlantic
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