This felt like the most violent, intense, and even hard to watch of the John Wick series- and that's saying something!  Walking out of the theater felt like getting off a roller-coaster. This movie was definitely thrilling, heart-pumping, and adrenaline-inducing from start to finish. It had breathtaking, brutal action sequences with beautiful, breathtaking scenery in the background. It also maintained its subtle dark comedic moments that made fun of the absurdity of certain over-the-top fight scenes with the unique use of weaponry. 

 

The plot was interesting, and not as predictable as I assumed it would have been. When I first found out about this movie, I wasn't keen on the idea of a John Wick spin-off, but this turned out to be more than just another extension of the movies. Not only do we get to see the John Wick world from a different character's perspective, but this movie also showed new underlying sides of the world that weren't presented in the previous movies. Ballerina also complemented the previous movies with the contrast of how John Wick is always trying to get out of this work and world, while Eve's character is determined to get in. I also really enjoyed the balance and dynamic between these two characters. One of my concerns was that Keanu Reeves wouldn't be in it, but he was, and he didn't overshadow this new character nor did she overshadow his character. The scenes with Ana de Armas and Keanu's characters where so interesting as it related to their place in the organization and in different times portraying how their paths had crossed in time and in the present time of the story. 

 

 

Seeing this from a female perspective was also really cool and very different. It brought a whole new level of intensity and creativity with fight sequences that felt more realistic and gritty. It also really made me want to learn the John Wick style fighting techniques.