Jakarta. Don’t expect to see lots of plié or arabesque on Len Wiseman’s latest work, “Ballerina”. This movie is not the next “Black Swan”, but it is the spin-off to the popular action thriller franchise “John Wick”.

“Ballerina” follows the revenge story of the ballerina-assassin Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas). It has a pretty simple storyline: young Eve sees her father getting killed and later chooses to train in the assassin traditions of the organized crime syndicate Ruska Roma. Keanu Reeves, who plays the original hitman John Wick, is back with lots of screentime.

Almost 85 percent of this two-hour movie is just pure action. Eve's father, Javier (David Castañeda), even gets a chance to show his moves. Despite being a “ballerina-assassin”, it does not mean that Eve will show some half-dance and half-combat. She prefers guns, knives, and other unconventional weapons. The final flamethrower scene is also a great way to end the action-packed film. As for how editing goes, the Ruska Roma training scene becomes the most well-edited part in “Ballerina”. We don’t see the characters engaging in intense dialogue very often, especially after the first 25 minutes or so. Even so, the characters manage to drop some lines that make great life advice. 

“Ballerina” is now out in Indonesian theaters. Those who are not familiar with the “John Wick” franchise can also still follow the movie’s plot. Although the film does not have that much dancing, prepare to hear lots of Tchaikovsky’s “Swanlake”.

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