With Ballerina, I was impressed that they were able to make a John Wick film without Keanu Reeves and still be just as fun. I had a blast watching, and I hope there’s more to come.
When Ballerina (2025) was announced, I was definitely excited. The John Wick series is the best action series ever, in my opinion. The films redefined what it means to be an actual action movie. With good stunts with little to no CGI, each movie is a testament to real filmmaking.
These movies have some of the best work you’ll ever see when it comes to stunts and choreography. I grew up on the cheesy 80s action movies, where every punch looks incredibly fake, so watching these is quite the upgrade. Those ’80s films still have charm, though.
There have been five John Wick movies and four in the original series. There was also a TV series that many people seem to forget about, and I’m glad I missed that one. With Ballerina (2025), we saw a new character in this universe. The casting was perfect with Anna de Armas playing Eve in Ballerina (2025).
This might be one of the better female-led action movies I’ve ever seen, along with Ana de Armas giving an incredible performance. She did such a great job with her stunts and acting, giving her character a fresh new approach for female action stars. They don’t have to be dressed scantily and all sexy just to sell; they can rely on their stunts like the men do.
Not only was her performance good, but her character was pretty well written as well. All the John Wick movies have great writing, which is a plus for modern action movies. So many action movies have such bland writing.
What I really like about the John Wick movies is the universe-building they do with each film. It makes the films feel incredibly unique. With Ballerina (2025), they definitely expanded on that universe, which was incredible. It feels like the possibilities are endless with how they could make more films and spin-offs.
Sadly, Ballerina (2025) didn’t make as much money as they hoped, with only $130 million. With the budget being at $90 million, this is definitely not good. But it seems the critics enjoyed the film, and I’m hoping that a good streaming performance will help lead them to make more movies. They’ve even spawned a new genre of action movies, it seems. Action movies that are more focused on realism and the stunts, trying to do more practical things rather than CGI.
In Ballerina (2025), we get plenty of great action and plenty of great pieces. The John Wick movies always have great set design, and this movie is no different. With Ballerina, we had an incredible nightclub scene. It looked like something the Penguin from the Batman movie would have. The nightclub was all iced out. All the characters could see their breath, which gave it a unique look. That was just one of the first action pieces in the film.
What made Ballerina (2025) stand out from other John Wick movies is that, instead of most of the fighting taking place in a big city, this one took place in a small village. It took place in a small, cozy, snowed-in village. It was really cool looking and awesome on film.
Another thing that makes these movies so fun is how the characters have to think on their feet when it comes to weapons. They aren’t always using guns to kill people or fight. Sometimes they have to rely on the most random of firearms, which is shown in this movie.
The creativity and thought process behind what could be a good weapon or a good tool to fight someone with is pretty awesome. Say, for example, they’ll be fighting in a kitchen in a restaurant. Of course, they have their butcher knives to fight with, but then they’ll get down to the plates and the forks and the hot water. It’s pretty awesome.
All of the John Wick movies have incredible casts. Ballerina (2025) definitely has a great cast as well. Bringing in Norman Reedus, who isn’t in a lot of movies nowadays. He wasn’t in the film as much as I wanted him to be, but it was definitely cool to see him in something that’s not The Walking Dead or Death Stranding.
Speaking of which, getting him to do press for Ballerina (2025) led to him answering more questions about Death Stranding, seeing as he doesn’t do as much of that since he isn’t acting as much. So if anything, I’m glad that he decided to be in Ballerina (2025), which led to him being able to be seen more and answer some more questions for fans.
Of course, Keanu Reeves makes an appearance in this movie and maybe has about 10 minutes of screen time. He makes it last and is as great as ever. I was glad they used them in the way they did and didn’t use them a ton, which would take away from Ana de Armas’s performance.
Overall, I think this was an incredible action movie, probably the best one since John Wick 4. I don’t know how it ranks against the other John Wick movies, but I definitely don’t think it’s the worst out of all of them.
Every John Wick movie was pretty awesome, so I’d have to go back and watch them all and see how I feel about comparing them to Ballerina (2025). I definitely feel like Ballerina (2025) will stand the test of time and will gain more fans in its streaming performance.
These kinds of spinoff movies don’t come all the time. When there’s a good spinoff, it’s usually a TV show or a miniseries. It’s really hard for a movie to be a spinoff and be as good as it is. Ballerina (2025) definitely did a great job of showing how there is a world without John Wick in that universe. It also makes everything feel a lot larger in scale. They’ve created a unique universe that I want to see a lot more of.
It seems that they’ve only scratched the surface at this point, and there’s unlimited potential. As long as they keep the same people around, as far as producers and writers go, I think they’ll be set to have an incredible franchise.
