As has been written many times, the phenomenon that is the John Wick series almost didn’t happen. The film was originally slated as a direct-to-video release, it was helmed by two first-time feature directors (Chad Stahelski and David Leitch), had a leading man on a downward trend with audiences (Keanu Reeves), and it even lost its funding during the shoot. By all accounts, the film should’ve been a disaster and, instead, it made a significant impact on modern American cinema that resulted in three sequels, a limited series centering The Continental, and an incredible behind the scenes documentary. Expanding the world of John Wick makes a certain amount of sense, but it has to be done right in order to blend within the larger universe. Earlier this year, director Len Wiseman’s (Underworld; Total Recall) action thriller Ballerina released into theaters with Ana de Armas (No Time to Die; Knives Out) in the lead, providing a different perspective on John Wick’s family, the Ruska Roma, while exploring a different aspect of the mysterious organization. If you feel like taking a ride into a new section of the John Wick universe, Ballerina is out on both physical and digital formats with roughly 33 minutes of behind-the-scenes materials to better understand how they pulled off this brand-new adventure.
If you’re interested in a spoiler-free exploration of Ballerina, head over to EoM Contributor Gabe Lapalombella’s theatrical release review.
Ana de Armas as Eve in BALLERINA. Photo Credit: Larry D. Horricks / Lionsgate. © 2025 Lionsgate.
When her father is killed while trying to prevent her abduction by a mysterious man (Gabriel Byrne), young Eve (Victoria Comte) is brought to the Ruska Roma by Winston (Ian McShane) for protection and training by The Director (Anjelica Huston). Twelve years later, Eve (Ana de Armas) is a full operative of the Ruska Roma as a Kikimora (a protector or killer, depending on the situation’s need). However, when someone baring the mark of her father’s killer tries to kill her, Eve decides to hunt the people down herself. But each choice comes with a consequence that may put her in the crosshairs of her own family.
What follows is based on a 4K UHD Blu-ray review copy provided by Lionsgate.
Written by Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead; John Wick: Chapter 4) and based on Derek Kolstad’s (John Wick) cinematic world, the character of Eve is treated not as a replacement for the seemingly-unstoppable Baba Yaga, but as another in the long line of killers who make up this world. Whereas John’s (Keanu Reeves) story begins with him reluctantly pulled back into the violent world he left behind, Eve’s story is about someone born into it, who chooses this life for herself. (This is, of course, a presumption of difference because we don’t know John’s origins and I, frankly, hope we never do.) This does mean that the film must spend its first hour setting up a lot of this narrative world between a new collective run by a violent cultist known as The Chancellor (Byrne), Eve’s relationship to both it and the Ruska Roma, and this new-to-us title of Kikimora. It’s a heavy lift, yet through some smart usage of prior established elements, this all flows and allows for several action-packed sequences which function to move the narrative forward with limited exposition. Is this a good entry point for new audiences? Absolutely not, which is likely why the film was advertised as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina to ensure that folks knew that this story takes place within a previously-established narrative. Where the film opts to lean on this and where it doesn’t absolutely makes a big difference in whether or not Hatten and Wiseman are making something of their own or cribbing from Kolstad, Stahelski, and Leitch. For instance, the first introduction of Winston as he offers safety to young Eve involves him giving her a coin, one which she gives back to procure services of the New York Continental Manager — services which are in direct opposition of her orders from The Director, a decision which anyone can see coming (even the characters) — so one would think that it’s a rehash of John’s decisions except, and this is key, it sets up that those who exist within the rules are given a certain leeway to bend others. Much in the same way that The Director and others lend their support to John in various series entries, so do we observe this here upon Eve, often with a wry smile or knowing glance from a character she engages with. In another, it’s the greater depth added to The Director’s school and the addition of Kikimora, establishing that not all jobs the Ruska Roma are hired for requiring killing of a target, they require protection, something which has been hinted at with John in Chapter 2 but that we’ve not yet seen. This playing within the lines of what audiences have seen before and expounding on them goes a long way in making Ballerina its own thing.
L-R: Ian McShane as Winston and Ana de Armas as Eve in BALLERINA. Photo Credit: Larry D. Horricks / Lionsgate. © 2025 Lionsgate.
So much of the John Wick franchise is predicated by the Hong Kong influences that inspired Stahelski and Leitch, which requires that Ballerina adhere to some of that cinematic language as well. This means gun fights involving various types of firearms, as well as weapons-based close-quarter combat, plus a dash of seemingly-improvised maneuvers. Since her scene-stealing turn as Agent Paloma in No Time to Die (2021), it was only a matter of time until someone tapped de Armas for an action role and Ballerina is a strong fit. Rather than make de Armas/Eve into John, the stunt work frequently takes into account her size and stature, making it something Eve must develop to overcome against larger or stronger opponents in her training. This enables Eve to come up with her own fighting style and sense of engagement when confronted. In her first elongated mission at a club, cinematographer Romain Lacourbas (The November Man; Colombiana) captures the vibe of John Wick’s Red Circle sequence (though focused on whites, blues, and purples compared to the blacks and reds of the predecessor) so audiences understand this is the same universe, but shoots the fights to accommodate the different fighter. Likewise, while the later flamethrower sequence with its overhead framing does give one that “dragon’s breath” vibe, it’s the way that Lacourbas shoots the post-explosion scene wherein Eve takes down several opponents with a blade as they come at her from various directions off-screen that gives the audience the real chill as the still-rattled Eve fights for her life.
Where the film falters the most, however, is in the inclusion of John Wick himself as a stopper for Eve’s vendetta against The Chancellor and the threat her action represents to his collective. Unable to stop her himself by violence and word, he calls The Director and threatens war, thus instigating the arrival of John. With the film taking place during Chapter 3, a few questions come to mind in terms of continuity to the series as a whole. His first appearance clearly occurs when John comes to The Director seeking to get his ticket punched, an action that allows him safe passage to Casablanca where he seeks out Sofia (Halle Berry) and officially removes him from the Ruska Roma. As such, how is she able to get John to do a mission for the organization? If his return takes place on his way back to the New York Continental where he’s ordered to kill Winston, this stop seems especially strange considering he doesn’t rejoin the Ruska Roma until the events of Chapter 4 and The Director’s hands are clearly uninjured here. In short, we shouldn’t be doing math to enjoy these films, so this creates a completely unnecessary distraction. Additionally, his inclusion here neither raises tension nor reduces as we know, upon his arrival to stop Eve, that he will not sustain any serious injury (that awaits him at the end of Chapter 4) and that it’s too early in the runtime for Eve to be stopped. Added to this, John gets his own brief action sequence when some of The Chancellor’s fighters decide to engage the Baba Yaga, which is the obvious thing to do if you’re bringing Reeves out to shoot, but would function so much better if the dialogue of two fighters arguing about whether or not to engage him — “That’s John Wick.” “He’s only one man.” — were the beginning and end of the fight for him. This would provide a brief chuckle for the audience, uplift his reputation, and maintain the focus on Eve, which is where it needs to be, not on him.
Perhaps my favorite new addition comes in a moment that’s small for Ballerina but also creates a new theory for Winston’s lore. Winston’s interaction with Eve in concert with the revelation in Chapter 4 that Winston is of the Ruska Roma himself, leave one to wonder if his care for John through the films isn’t just familial, but because Winston brought John into the organization in a similar manner as he did Eve. Parentage is a critical piece of Ballerina that goes beyond Eve’s vendetta or the late addition of Norman Reedus’s Daniel Pine and his daughter. It’s the means by which the line is drawn between collectives as The Chancellor’s collective focuses on literal bloodlines as much as loyalty, whereas the other collectives we’ve met thus far center the rules and honor on equal footing with bloodlines. This, of course, creates a sense, amid all the other cultist bullshit The Chancellor spews, that his collective is more terror organization than crime syndicate.
As this is a home release review, let’s get into what to expect from the 4K UHD edition.
L-R: Actor Ana de Armas and director Len Wiseman on set of BALLERINA. Photo Credit: Lionsgate. © 2025 Lionsgate.
From a technical perspective, the bitrate on the disc oscillates from the mid-70 to mid-80 (Mbps) for the majority of the film with the occasional dip into the 50s and bump into the 90s. This still puts the film well above the 40 Mbps max bitrate for Blu-ray, so the picture is going to be better than the Blu-ray. One doesn’t ever notice the dips or raises as the data stream remains consistent throughout, the presented image remaining high in detail and deep in color. The dour and dramatic scene when Eve’s father dies is composed beautifully with Eve shown as small in size on a dock by the water, alone and waiting with her grief, and the reds in the top left of the frame and blues and purples making up the bulk of the right offering a sense of rebirth. The aforementioned sequence in which Eve slices through several opponents is lovely, the action easy to follow, and the contrast between color and shadow creating additional depth. Though EoM HQ isn’t equipped for Dolby Atmos, the sound is clear, clean, and immersive when it needs to be. We really get the impacts of the punches, kicks, and slams, and the explosions pack a punch.
Be advised that the included bonus features do slightly change depending on the format you acquire. The press release for the release only claims three featurettes — “The Making of Ballerina,” “Building a Frozen Underworld,” and “The Art of Action” — each one providing a look behind the making of the title, as well as a series of deleted or extended scenes (seven total). The first featurette, “The Making of Ballerina,” is a 10 minute broader look into the film with members of the cast and crew offering their perspectives on story, stunts, joining the Wick universe, and generally talking about the ease of working together. The other two featurettes, “Building a Frozen Underworld” and “The Art of Action,” take a more specified approach as viewers are invited into the design and execution processes of the two big stunt sequences of the film — the club sequence and Eve’s assault on The Chancellor’s compound. If you want more after all that, there are nearly 30 minutes of deleted and extended scenes that offer more of the grenade fight, the tavern fight with John Wick franchise alum Daniel Bernhardt (in a new role), and the flamethrower sequence. Interestingly, what’s not mentioned is that the digital version that I accessed through iTunes also includes a nearly-four-minute featurette “Fight Like a Girl,” which chooses to focus on the training that de Armas experienced including interviews with her stunt double, Cara Chooljian (Ghosted; The Grey Man; Everything Everywhere All at Once).
Even where the film treads too closely to what we’ve seen before by ending the film with Eve on the run with a contract on her head, the film as a whole never destroys what came before. It trusts the audience to have done its homework on this series, so that when Eve finds herself (and two others) facing a firing squad for behavior at the Prague Continental, we know exactly why (thank you John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2). Additionally, as established in this series, the women are just as capable as the men, each of the best killers respected not just for how they complete their tasks, but how they treat others when not working. To that end, Eve is a strong compliment to what we’ve seen in the central universe. Considering the end of Chapter 4 and the upcoming Donnie Yen-directed spinoff title focusing on his character Caine post-Chapter 4, if we must remain in this cinematic universe, let’s let John rest. Clearly there are others who can carry the mantle forward.
Ballerina Special Features:
- The Making of Ballerina ― Witness the rise of Eve (Ana de Armas) as the filmmakers discuss the intricate process of creating a new character in the world of John Wick. (10:55)
- Building A Frozen Underworld ― Step into the bold new locations that serve as the latest hunting grounds for these talented filmmakers, eager to face and overcome fresh challenges. (6:10)
- The Art of Action ― A Dance Between Fire and Ice: Discover how the film’s stunts, fight choreography, and innovative new weapons contributed to some of the most intense action sequences in the John Wick universe. (11:10)
- Seven (7) Deleted & Extended Scenes (29:50)
- Fight Like A Girl (3:52) – Train alongside internationally acclaimed actress Ana de Armas, who once again puts her mind and body to the test with the most challenging and rewarding action choreography of her career so far. (3:52) (Digital Only)
Available on VOD and digital July 1st, 2025.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD Steelbook September 9th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Ballerina website.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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