Ballerina effortlessly (and violently) pirouettes into the John Wick universe
Gun fu is back! After 2023’s spectacular finale (for now), John Wick: Chapter 4, and a disappointing television series, The Continental, the John Wick universe is once again aiming to expand with Ballerina, marketed as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, in case you didn’t know. If you also weren’t aware, Keanu Reeves reprises his role in Ballerina, a seemingly desperate inclusion by the producers to feed the fan base and add extra gravitas. Reeves is slightly overused in Ballerina. His initial cameo adds emotional weight to the titular ballerina’s plight, but the film could’ve stood solidly on its own without his reappearance in the third act, which isn’t much of a spoiler if you’ve seen any of the trailers. Ballerina is the first promising piece of John Wick universe expansion, and though the film contains plenty of flaws in its narrative logic, Ballerina is still a slick, exhilarating actioner with a bright future of potential sequel chapters. Continue reading “Film Review: “Ballerina””