FROM THE WORLD OF JOHN WICK: BALLERINA

'Ballerina' follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas, 'Knives Out', 'No Time to Die'), who at young a age witnesses the death of her father. She is taken to the Ruska Roma by Winston Scott (Ian McShane, 'Kung Fu Panda 4', 2019's 'Hellboy') and begins to train as an assassin under The Director (Anjelica Huston, 'The French Dispatch', 1990's 'The Witches'). Now grown, Eve is a full-on assassin and is looking for revenge from the men who killed her father. She learns of a town run by the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne, 'Hereditary', TV's 'Vampire Academy'), who was involved in the murder, and now she will stop at nothing until her father is avenged.

'Ballerina' has a hard hurdle to get over - and that is being in 'John Wick's' shadow. The action sequences are impressive, but where it falters is in the story; it all comes across as a simple, generic vengeance tale. Much of the large cast are glorified cameos and little character development is given to its lead character. But again, the action is really fun, the film doesn't stop pulling the punches and punches and punches... and, of course, a flamethrower.

'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina' is a worthy footnote in the ever-growing 'John Wick' saga. While it lacks a narrative backbone, it more than delivers on the action front, and it's smart enough to make that the forefront. The cast might feel lacking and filled with glorified cameos, but when it comes to those action beats, they more than deliver.