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.
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.
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