Bill Crider was a big fan of the John Wick movie series. I admire the brutal and private world John Wick operates in–professional assassins–but unrelenting violence tends to wear me out.

Which brings us to the new movie, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina where John Wick actually shows up briefly.  Surrounding Ana de Armas who plays Eve Macarro–an assassin with ballerina skils–with incredible brutal action choreography and a wacky origin story, Ballerina pirouettes gracefully onto the Wickverse.

Ballerina is set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023). Directed by Len Wiseman and written by Shay Hatten, Ballerina weaves wild storytelling–mostly revenge and retribution–with peaks into the secret world of assassins.

Ballerina is likely to be the top action movie of 2025. If this is your thing, you’ll like it…a lot. If not, just wait a couple of months and watch it on one of your streaming services. GRADE: B