Ballerinatakes place in-betweenJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - ParabellumandJohn Wick: Chapter 4. Ana de Armas is the titular ballerina in question, aka Eve Macarro. Fans can expect to see some familiar and unfamiliar faces in the film, along with revisiting some common themes.
Overall,Ballerinacan best be described as a tale of revenge, but Eve isn’t after some gangsters because they killed her dog. Instead, they killed her dad, and she honed her skills over a decade to get what she wanted most: blood. The action is intense as ever, but there are also some good lines.
8“Did You Think You Could Just Walk Away?”
The Chancellor
Just like the first film,Ballerinaopens with a traumatic event for Eve when her home is invaded by armed men. Her father, Javier, does a decent job of holding them off until he gets surrounded by The Chancellor and his elite guard.
He wants Eve back, so The Chancellor gives Javier a choice: to kill himself to keep Eve alive or to kill him and start a war. It’s just a taste of the vile acts The Chancellor will commit later in the movie and sets up the tale of revenge nicely.
7“Those Men From Your Past, Don’t Let Them Steal Your Future.”
The Director
Eve somehow winds up in a hospital waiting for some answers after escaping her home, which is when she meets Winston Scott from theNew York CityContinental. Winston takes Eve to The Director, the head of the Ruska Roma, who gives these words of advice to Eve.
The Director sees potential in Eve to be a trained killer, but she knows that revenge can stand in the way of her glory. That’s what she’s trying to say in so few words, and unfortunately, the past does eventually catch up to Eve and puts a pin in her career.
6“I’m You In Ten Years.”
Ruska Roma Assassin
The movie then skips ahead twelve years when Eve is about to becomea fully fledged assassin. Her final test places her in a room with a deconstructed gun in front of her, right before they bring in another woman.
Eve is confused, but when this woman says this line about becoming her in a decade, Eve figures it out. Eve’s final test is to build her gun before the other woman can kill her. Eve does so, even showing this woman mercy before she eventually kills her.
5“I’m Working On It.”
John Wick
John Wick is shown on the posters and in the trailer forBallerina, but moviegoers know well that doesn’t mean anything. Someone could appear in a trailer clip, and then that would be their entire role, like The Vulture’sappearance inMorbius.
Well, for John, he is inBallerinaa fair bit, with this first meeting happening early on with Eve in the Ruska Roma compound. He warns Eve to get out, and when she asks why he didn’t get out in return, John says this line about trying. ToJohn Wickfans, they get the joke.
4“Better To Be Inside The Tent Wizzing Out Rather Than To Be Outside Wizzing In.”
Winston Scott
Winston has some of the most poetic and disturbing lines in the series, and this comment ranks up there. He’s giving an analogy to Eve about the cult she is trying to find. He welcomes them to his hotel because he knows if he doesn’t, they will cause chaos outside.
This is later disproven when Eve visits another Continental hotel, as cult members cause chaos within the Prague branch, which just shows that thiscult thrives on chaos.
3“It’s A Cult, No One Gets Out…Ever.”
Daniel Pine
In the Prague Continental, Eve meets Daniel Pine, a further member of the cult who is played by Norman Reedus. Reedus has a great June planned out between his appearance inBallerinaandstarring inDeath Stranding 2.
InBallerina, Daniel is holding up in the hotel with his daughter, Ella. He left the cult knowing full well they would chase him, but he took that chance to give Ella a better life, just like Javier did for Eve.
2“May I Be Frank?”
Frank
This is one of the corniest jokes in the movie, but it works well becauseBallerinabuilds up to it. Various elders in the movie ask Eve if they can be honest or frank with her, which can be interpreted as a condescending way to talk to a woman.
So when a literal man named Frank asks Eve this question, it will have the dads in the audience laughing at this bit. Frank is the proprietor of a weapon shop, which Eve has come to for stocking up on gear like she is about toface The Terminator.
1“Cool.”
Eve Macarro
Eve has a few choice lines inBallerinaas the lead, but this one-word line pays off big time. In the final confrontation, Eve is out of ammo and desperately tries to find some sort of weapon stash in the cult’s compound.
Eventually, she stumbled into a bunch of explosives and a flamethrower. Discovering this flamethrower is when she says “Cool,” which is hidden from the audience until she absolutely lights up these cultist goons minutes later. In terms of flamethrower fights in movies and games,includingMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake EaterandJohn Carpenter’s The Thing,Ballerinaranks high up there.
