Ballerina dances around the John Wick schtick

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina pointes the movie franchise in a new direction while celebrating the past. This story takes place between John Wick: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 in the chronology of the multiple films.

Eve Macarro is the young orphaned daughter of two assassins and is saved by Winston Scott to be raised in New York. She balances a life of dance with training to be a Kikimora assassin. This leads her to adventures in Prague and Austria to battle it out with dark forces.

Ballerina tries to go deep with Slavic mythology and one ominous character talks about the Kikimora spirit, which exists in the shadows and seeks revenge. It's all smoke and mirrors, though and the tale is devised to inspire Eve into violence.

Latin actress Ana de Armas conveys the role of Eve through riveting eyes and outstanding fight scenes that the franchise is known for. While she is scrappy, Ana fails at times to display the weight of her character's tortured past and the material veers a bit towards James Bond instead of John Wick. She has to compete in the action category at the box office against her boyfriend, Tom Cruise, who is 25 years older than her.

This is a duet between John Wick and a ballerina girl, and there appears to be a missing fight scene on the Swan Lake stage. This Spanish swan rehearses and suffers from bloody toes for nothing as the dance section takes a backseat. It seems to only serve as a device to bring Angelica Huston onboard as the Director of the dance troupe, who reminded me of my old teacher, who was narcissistic, stoic and calculating.

There are several cameos along the way in this spinoff. Keanu Reeves returns as the title character and his screen time is just the right amount so as not to upstage de Armas.

It's the final curtain call for actor Lance Reddick as Charon. The talented cast member died after he filmed a brief scene for Ballerina. He deserves a spinoff that will never happen.

Norman Reedus needed a makeover before playing Pine. The same greasy, shag haircut that audiences have seen him wear is so attached to his previous characters that it's distracting. Slick it back, put it in a ponytail or chop it off!

Ian McShane plays the conflicted villain Winston Scott and shares a similar look to Gabriel Byrne as Chancellor.

Homework is not necessary for this overextended tale of assassins and bounty hunters. There is graphic violence that the franchise is known for and not for the kids.

There is dry wit from Wick and the gang throughout the fire and ice scenes. The magic is found in the unconventional weapons used during the various conflicts and how anything within arm's reach can be used to fight.

Are more spinoffs planned for the World of John Wick in the future? The possibilities are limitless with Continental Hotels around the globe and the producing team is working on a Ballerina part deux. Until then, Ballerina dances into theaters on June 6, 2025.