Ballerina (2024)

Grace is a weapon. Grief is the trigger.

Ballerina (2024) is a vengeance-fueled spin-off set within the John Wick universe, centered on Rooney, a young assassin trained from childhood in a secret ballet school that’s more Black Ops than barre classes. Played by Ana de Armas, Rooney isn’t just a killer — she’s a ghost moving with precision, trained in beauty and brutality alike.

The story begins with loss. Rooney’s family — or what’s left of it — has been murdered in a targeted hit. The suspects are connected to the same underground crime world that once molded her. With grief as her fire and training as her blade, she begins to trace the assassins responsible, traveling through the criminal underbelly of Eastern Europe and beyond.

But this is no simple revenge tale. Rooney is hunted as much as she hunts. Old allies turn on her. Other ballerinas from her past, once sisters in survival, are now enemies or dead. The High Table’s reach lurks in the background, and the rules of the assassin world threaten to crush anyone who acts out of emotion.

The action is sharp, balletic, and brutal — fights feel choreographed but never polished, highlighting the contrast between Rooney’s past on stage and her present soaked in blood. The tone matches the cold elegance of John Wick, but filters it through a more intimate, emotionally raw lens.

Cameos from familiar Wick-world characters (including Keanu Reeves as John Wick himself) deepen the mythos without overshadowing Rooney’s arc. This is her story — a meditation on vengeance, identity, and whether someone trained to kill can ever live without violence.

Though some may feel the narrative isn’t as expansive as the main franchise, Ballerina excels in atmosphere, choreography, and character focus. It proves there’s room in the Wick universe for stories led by quiet rage, precise movement, and tragic beauty.