I love the John Wick movies, and I thought that John Wick: Chapter 4 pretty much perfectly brought the saga to a close. However, when I heard that there was going to be a spin-off, I was pretty excited, and the more I heard about Ballerina, the more excited I got. I had a ton of fun with this one, and if you are a fan of the John Wick movies, I do not see there being anyway that you do not have a great time watching this.
How to Download Ballerina
Ballerina was released on June 6, 2025. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
The Creative Force Behind Ballerina
Ballerina is directed by Len Wiseman, but the writer of John Wick Chapter 3 and 4, Shay Hatten, is once again here for the script. Chad Stahelski, who directed the other John Wick movies, serves as a producer. This is not some kind of quick cash grab, trying to get by on the John Wick name! You can tell that a lot of love, heart, and soul went into bringing this movie to life.
Ana de Armas Shines as the Lead
As well as a great team behind the camera, the cast of Ballerina is awesome! Ana de Armas is fantastic as Eve. Eve is the daughter of a man called Javier, who is an assassin for Ruska Roma, and a woman who is a Cultist! Javier dies trying to keep Eve safe, and Eve ultimately ends up with Winston, who takes her to the people at the Ruska Roma, and she becomes a trainee assassin; she is also a Ballerina. The idea being that she is capable of brutal violence, but she is also very graceful too. Ana de Armas honestly pulls this role off to perfection!
Returning Favorites from the John Wick Universe
Well, I just mentioned Winston, so you know that Ian McShane is back; however, Ballerina has an amazing cast of returning John Wick characters and new characters, too. Returning, we have Angelica Huston, Keanu Reeves, and the gone way too soon, Lance Reddick. I have to say that from the trailers, I thought that Keanu Reeves would be in this far less than he was, so that was awesome to see.
New Faces in the World of Assassins
There are also some fantastic new additions to “The World of John Wick” as well. Gabrielle Byrne is the head of the Cult of Assassins that Ana De Armas’s Eve wants revenge on. We also have Norman Reedus as Daniel Pine, who is the son of the head of the Cultists, and he is a fantastic character and one I hope gets his own spin-off.
Revenge-Driven Storyline with High Stakes
Ballerina is a story of revenge, and I would say that after about 25 minutes, this ramps up to a full-on John Wick movie. Eve wants to make the people responsible for her father’s death pay, but as you know, there are rules to this game. This means that Eve has to watch out for the bounty that is on her head, too, a bounty that John Wick himself is set to collect. You may be wondering just how the heck John Wick is in this movie, but this is actually set between John Wick: Chapter 3 and John Wick: Chapter 4.
Stylish Action That Delivers
Even if the story and the characters sucked, you could count on there being epic action scenes in this movie and there certainly is. Thankfully, the story and the characters are just as interesting as the badass action. Ana de Armas is perfect in the lead role, she may be easy on the eyes, but she is a complete ass kicking machine and due to her being a “ballerina” there is an air of grace about the way she kicks ass.
Final Thoughts: A Must-Watch for John Wick Fans
I was pretty sure that I was going to like this, but part of me did wonder, is this John Wick spin-off necessary? Well, I not only liked this, I liked it far more than I thought I would, and the time just zoomed by. I do not see there being any way that someone who enjoyed the Jon Wick movies does not have a fun time watching Ballerina.
