Lionsgate
The action movie «Ballerina» starring Ana de Armas received the first ratings from specialized publications — not disastrous, but the lowest for the «John Wick» universe.
Set between the third and fourth films in the series, «Ballerinas» follows Eva Maccaro (de Armas), a former dancer and now a professional assassin who seeks revenge on the people who destroyed her family. The character has already appeared in the «John Wick» franchise, played by Unité Phelan, while de Armas will offer a new take on Maccaro. The film also features Keanu Reeves himself, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, Gabrielle Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno and the late Lance Reddick.
Currently, «Ballerina» 62/100 on Metacritic and 78% «freshness» on Rotten Tomatoes.
In the latter case, the rating is the lowest among all the John Wick films, but slightly better than the estimates of series «Continental» (63% on Rotten Tomatoes)
| Movie title | Critics’ assessment | Evaluation of the audience |
|---|---|---|
| John Wick | 86% | 82% |
| John Wick 2 | 89% | 85% |
| John Wick 3: Parabellum | 89% | 86% |
| John Wick 4 | 94% | 93% |
| Ballerina | 78% | — |
To summarize the reviews, the verdict is as follows: the first part of the film is burdened with a clichéd revenge plot, while the second part turns into a semi-entertaining and almost cartoonish action spectacle (although it should be noted that the choreography of the fights is mostly praised). Among the highlights — a brutal shootout during a S&M masquerade, a fiery duel in a snowy alpine village, and a fight in a burning monastery.
«Ballerina», according to rumors, went through serious reshoots, because Lionsgate was allegedly dissatisfied with the work of director Len Wiseman. Chad Stahelski, the head of original films, was brought in to work on the project, which in turn affected the timeline for the development of his remake «Highlander» with Henry Cavill (the project has now been acquired by Amazon). Actor Ian McShane, who plays in «Ballerina», accidentally confirmed additional filming in an interview with a hint that the movie turned out «not excellent»while in the studio it is expected denied all rumors.
Another interesting point is that before the release of Lionsgate introduced a kind of«an embargo on negativity» by allowing the publication of «enthusiastic» and spoiler-free reviews from May 22 and banning «critical reviews» (read real ones) until June 4. Well, now we’ve seen them.
As a reminder, in April, Lionsgate officially announced the development of «John Wick 5», which will show «a completely new story» not related to the High Table. Keanu Reeves will return to the role, despite his seeming death in the previous movie. The studio also announced the development of a prequel cartoon with Reeves’ voice acting, spinoff about the blind killer Kane and spinoff «John Wick: Under the High Table».