From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Len Wiseman

Cast: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne

Release Date: September 9, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

The next chapter from the World of John Wick follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), who is beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma. Eve seeks revenge for her father’s death, and finds herself crossing paths with John Wick himself (Keanu Reeves).

‘Ballerina’ (or often advertised as ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’) tells the story of Eve Macarro who after a tragic loss finds her way to the world of the Ruska Roma where she builds her talents both in ballet and violence, all while inching closer to being an official member. But when she uncovers a clue about a secretive group that was responsible for killing her father she ignores her orders and sets out on a quest for vengeance. What she didn’t expect was how dangerous the mission would be, let alone who might be sent after her once she upsets those in charge.

Directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard) from a screenplay written by Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum), Wiseman does a solid job at the helm of ‘Ballerina’ guiding along the explosive spin-off with style and finding a nice balance between fresh and familiar. The film’s cast includes Ana de Armas (No Time to Die), Anjelica Huston (The French Dispatch), Gabriel Byrne (Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend), Lance Reddick (Godzilla vs. Kong), Norman Reedus (The Bikeriders), Ian McShane (Deep Cover) and Keanu Reeves (The Matrix Resurrections), with most offering solid or at least capable performances altogether in each of their respective roles.

‘Ballerina’ serves up a wildly exciting, brutal and action packed ride that explores one woman’s journey from lost child to deadly assassin and protector, fitting nicely into the world of the ‘John Wick’ franchise and even featuring Wick himself Keanu Reeves in a minor role within the tale. Primarily taking place amid the events of John Wick: Chapter 3, it offers an interesting and somewhat fresh perspective of another character from within the series and instead of the other film’s key focus on one character trying to find a way out, ‘Ballerina’ goes in the opposite direction as it chronicles one character’s progression of trying to find a way in.

In line with the other films in the main series, ‘Ballerina’ is jam-packed with utterly gorgeous action sequences and breathtaking scenery throughout that keep the tension and fun coming at full speed. It does feel mildly forced in its attempt to include the John Wick character in the tale but at the same time it’s difficult to be bothered by it even so as it nicely encloses the tale within the world, especially with the inclusion of some other characters from the franchise on top of it. While it never quite manages to reach the level of near perfection as the other films do, it’s certainly a tremendous amount of fun and well worth the time for fans of the series.

Overall, ‘Ballerina’ delivers a fun, stylish and action packed ride that fits nicely into the ‘John Wick’ franchise. It offers a slightly different but still very familiar type of experience that stands out from the other four films but retains many similar traits, with a ferocious performance by Ana de Armas in the lead to help propel it along. ‘Ballerina’ is definitely recommended for any fans of the ‘John Wick’ franchise who are sure to appreciate the hard hitting action and stylish fun, even if it may not be quite as magnificent as the four films in the main series. If you’re already even mildly intrigued by this one and enjoyed the other films, then ‘Ballerina’ should easily be worth your time and the price of a rental at the very least and is certainly worth checking out.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Ballerina’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks outstanding as a whole and serves up a clean, sharp and immaculately detailed presentation from start to finish that impresses throughout and never suffers from any noticeable issues or faults along the way. Detail is marvelous across the board and everything from characters to interior settings and the various landscapes on display throughout shine, while the Dolby Vision HDR offers some improvements on coloring including the neon glare of the club scene and the snowy white landscapes in the final fight; all balanced by deep, rich and problem free black levels. Overall, this is a phenomenal Ultra High Definition presentation that looks wonderful throughout and should easily thrill fans and newcomers alike.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is an absolute blast in itself and it offers a crisp, clean and wildly aggressive audio presentation throughout. It constantly takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send a flurry of gunfire, debris, explosions, fire and a great deal more repeatedly whipping throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while always ensuring that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible at every turn. Overall, this is a fantastic Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that immerses you in the action and fun and never comes even remotely close to disappointing or underwhelming.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Ballerina’ features some enjoyable extras including a collection of ‘Deleted and Extended Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 30 minutes in length altogether), in addition to a few Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore different aspects of bringing the film to life, including interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are ‘The Making of Ballerina’ (running approximately 11 minutes), ‘Building a Frozen Underworld’ (approximately 6 minutes) and ‘The Art of Action: A Dance Between Fire and Ice’ (11 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Lionsgate

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You can purchase ‘Ballerina’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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