Elegant and lethal, Ana de Armas exudes John Wick worthy cool as Eve Macarro in this entertaining spin-off. Chronologically, the film is set between Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, setting up the anticipation of a potential encounter between Eve and Wick. Keanu Reeves’ Wick is a powerful presence. Can the series succeed with a different protagonist? Perhaps. That is due in part to the world of John Wick as established in previous films. It’s a creatively realized and meticulously designed compelling world of non-stop action and beautifully stylized violence taking place in a parallel crime world that functions in accordance with elaborate rules and rituals. It’s the attention to detail and intriguing cast of characters that gives the series its allure, drawing in even viewers like me, who are not typically action fans. A favorite of mine is the administrative hub, infused with a retro-mood in the hairdos, eyeglasses, and shiny nails of the all-women staff, who are also lavishly tattooed. As a new protagonist coming into this world, Eve Macarro stands on very solid, fascinating, ground.
Yet it took a while for me to fully engage with the film as it opens with Eve’s origin story, which felt a bit obvious. Young Eve (Victoria Comte) sits alone on a bench in the police station, her face marked with blood, holding a final memento from her father, a twirling ballerina doll inside a glass globe. Cue: this is sad. Eve’s father had attempted to rescue her from the deadly cult in which she was born, but the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne) has sent assassins to kill her father and bring her back to the cult. He is killed but Eve survives, and by the good graces of Winston (Ian McShane), she is brought before the Director of the Roma Ruska (Anjelica Huston), to be brought up as a ballerina/killer. I’m not sure that’s what her father intended for her, but Eve (Ana de Armas) takes to the brutal training with a burning passion. Eve is determined to avenge her father’s death, and although this single-mindedness might be a key to success, and is perhaps, a marker of a youthful mind (and therefore in character and forgivable), if the series is to continue, some complexity, ambivalence perhaps, and nuance, would be desirable.
The action heats up when Eve begins to go on assignment, her first is set in a dazzling club scene and she acquits herself admirably. Early in her training, her mentor Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) advises her to “change the terms” in a fight, knowing that any opponent is likely to be bigger and heavier, she should lean into her strengths. One of her strengths is improvising, using whatever is available in her current environment, from ice skates to flame throwers.
Augmenting the fantastic scenes of elaborately choreographed action, replete with horrific violence, there are also small moments of wry humor, as when Eve deftly plucks the knives from bodies strewn along the staircase with all the grace of a ballerina. The film even indulges in all-out silliness, as in the memorable scenes when Eve consults with Frank (Abraham Popoola), or the epic battle of the plates. Ian McShane brings warmth and gravitas to his portrayal of Winston, Anjelica Huston brings a steely resolve and chill to the Director, and the late Lance Reddick made his final appearance in the memorable role of the gatekeeper, Charon.
The film really comes into its own in the final act as the action moves to Hallstatt, a picturesque village in the snow-covered mountains. It’s wild and weird, outrageously and inventively violent. Great action fun with some troubling issues for the over-thinkers among us – What’s up with the emphasis on little girls? I find that immensely disturbing. Is there really much of a difference between the Chancellor’s death cult, and the Roma Ruska? And perhaps most important in looking towards a future sequel, when will Eve Macarro start asking some difficult questions?
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
Director: Len Wiseman; Screenplay: Shay Hatten; Cinematography: Romain Lacourbas; Editors: Nicholas Lundgren, Jason Ballentine; Music: Tyler Bates, Joel J. Richard; Cast: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves.
