On June 5, a spin-off of the John Wick franchise was spotted in Russian theaters – the mysterious film 'Ballerina'. We tell how Len Wiseman replaced Chad Stahelski, and why villains in action movies love philosophy so much.

“Fate is a very capricious lady” – words belonging to the fanatical Chancellor played by Gabriel Byrne. Sometimes there is a persistent feeling that ethical philosophers, determinists, and incompatibilists wrote only so that their works would later be used by nihilistic psychopaths who darken Hollywood blockbusters with their presence. Little did Paul Holbach think that materialistic monism would find a second home in the minds of murderers who need to justify their lifestyle. However, the Chancellor became a “philosopher” not for nothing, but to offer the main heroine not only physical and emotional resistance, but also ideological opposition.

Eva, played by , lost her father as a child. He tried to rescue the child from the clutches of the Chancellor's sect but fell in an unequal battle. Eva was taken in by the clan “Ruska Roma” – the alma mater of John Wick, which appeared in the main franchise. The adopted orphan, while carrying out another mission on the family's orders, accidentally stumbles upon the trail of those who took everything from her, and by the law of the genre, decides on revenge.

Roman Kovalev

From Abusing Keanu Reeves to Clumsy Evidence Concealment: 5 Best Films of Ana de Armas

About the best roles of Ana de Armas, the Cuban who conquered Hollywood and the whole world.

Open material

The Thousand-Faced Hero

“Ballerina”, although obliged to aggressively blink the spotlight towards the new star, focuses not only on Eva's professional skill but also on the squabbles between the Chancellor's family and the gypsy diaspora “Ruska Roma”, which is an extremely successful decision for two reasons.

Firstly, “”, as Chad Stahelski has repeatedly stated, mutated from a neo-noir action film into a mythological action movie. There were several reasons for this, but the main one is the ability to create absurd rules for a new universe that seems to appeal to the viewer's subconscious, convincing them that tens of thousands of killers really flood the streets of New York, even if it is mathematically impossible.

Evgeny Belousov

Baba Yaga Retires. Again: Review of the Film 'John Wick 4' (2023)

The fourth part of the John Wick franchise has officially been released in Russian theaters. The story of a hitman who initially took revenge on thugs for killing his puppy and stealing his car continues to expand.

Open material

Moreover, the narrative figuration of “John Wick” and the structural features of the epic create a seamless transition between the choral parts of proto-European civilization and the backroom foundations of the franchise's world. Such fluctuating polyphonies do not go unnoticed and give rise to an uncontrollable stream of indirect associations.

For example, the foothills inhabited by the Chancellor's followers, in terms of functional participation, resemble Colchis – a magical continuity into whose ritual underbelly the myth imprisoned Medea, the priestess of Hecate, later abducted by Jason. “Ballerina” does not say it directly, but it is obvious that the isolation of the sectarians from the outside world is dictated by the tribal priestly structure of transmitting intergenerational knowledge. That is why the fanatics are ready to return the stolen child, no matter the cost.

Secondly, by placing Eva in a projective archaeological diorama, a space of the sublime, the film finishes with philosophy and rises to slaughter. New York for John Wick is a home infested with pests; the Chancellor's settlement for Eva is a testing ground. New York exists in two hypostases, one of which cannot die because it lives abstracted from the franchise, but no one will stop the epic hero from erasing the contours of a mythological object. That is what the protagonist does: she finds a spiritual mentor, gains a sister, but only to recklessly kill a lot. And with that, “Ballerina” has no problems.

The Body is Gone, the Heart Remains

The candidacy of Len Wiseman for the director of the spin-off was met with skepticism. Predictably, but hastily, “Ballerina” was denied a future in the absence of Chad Stahelski, forgetting that “John Wick” had already had one of its heads cut off: after the release of the first part, pragmatic David Leitch left. The creative feats of screenwriter Derek Kolstad, composers Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard also remained underestimated; and Stahelski did not leave irrevocably and is now listed among the producers of “Ballerina”.

The spin-off looks and sounds like “John Wick”, communicates on the same frequency and adopts the narrative logic of its “big brother”. Of course, Len Wiseman, as a rotation player, does not keep up with the choreographic precision of Stahelski's combat dance, but he has enough drive to assimilate the grammar kindly provided by his colleagues. Almost every arena is burdened with additional conditions in the form of surfaces, improvised means, attributes, and slapstick elements that are non-trivial for the genre.

A real discovery was the “grenade”, explosive action, thanks to which Eva, with her first solo project, acquired a transpersonal killer identity. “Fight like a woman” – instructs the heroine the head of “Ruska Roma”, not even suspecting how many times the pin will be pulled. However, the small size and subtlety of Ana de Armas in the world of men still does not go unnoticed: Eva takes hits worse, relies more on foreign objects, and with enviable regularity “flies across the walls”.

However, the mentioned grenades are not only weapons but also a metaphor. “Ballerina” is worse executed technically and professionally, but it is bright and crazy, not ready but willing to influence the entropy of existence. This stylistic drift also affects the techniques used by the director: Wiseman opens the season of artless slow-mo and pointless ceiling shots, but what difference does it make if in his film girls fight with plates and skate blades, and a flamethrower cannot withstand a collision with a fire extinguisher?

In the end, the main merit of “Ballerina” lies in its ability to entertain its viewer and not deceive their expectations. And personal fans of Ana de Armas can be sent to the cinema like to a kindergarten and go about their business for a while (but it is better to sit through with them and also become a fan).

Trailer: