Do Universo de John Wick: Ballerina

Ballerina is a mixed bag, one that takes far too much time to get going. But when it does, this latest foray into the insane world of the High Table has plenty to offer.

The unwieldy title's a clue to an unwieldy structure, but director Len Wiseman provides mayhem enough to keep fans occupied until John Wick 5 arrives.

The sense of aimlessness is an issue with so many spin-offs... Ballerina ultimately succeeds as a piece of junky fun, however, because it attempts to expand the Wick canon rather than deepen its titular protagonist.

This film serves to excite John Wick fans enough to make them buy tickets for "Ballerina 2: Electric Pas de Deux," or whatever they're going to call the sequel.

This Len Wiseman-directed flick is 45 minutes shorter than "John Wick 4," but spiritually, it's longer than jury duty.

The film works flawlessly when [De Armas] gives herself over to the action, and that, fortunately for fans, is something that happens constantly. [Full review in Spanish]

Yes, the stunts are always spectacular, but what makes the John Wick movies enthralling is the world, a parallel universe where international assassins operate in ultra-elegant surroundings without any interference from cops or, well, reality.

In the John Wick films, Reeves has become an accomplished actioneer, but the role fits him like a costume, not like a second skin, and that's equally true of de Armas, who is a purposeful and determined presence nonetheless.

[Ana de Armas]'s performing at 80 percent in a franchise that demands 110 percent. Still, she'll do, stretching out the franchise beyond Reeves' stamina.

The pleasures of Ballerina are both blunt and fleeting; you're not going to remember the plot-or any of the performances, perhaps save one-five minutes after the end credits role. But the picture's cartoonish brutality is cathartic.

It takes a while for "Ballerina" to find its footing, but once it does, this explosive action romp proves to be a worthy extension of the "John Wick" universe.

It is a car crash of a film.

There isn't much suspense or storytelling craftsmanship present at any point, but at least lots of people and things get broken.

Whether Eve's inner black swan will win out over her white one is never in question. Instead, that polarity motif is more thrillingly captured when Eve fends off a flamethrower with a fire hose.

Directed, with workmanlike efficiency, by Len Wiseman, "Ballerina" is at once insultingly facile and infuriatingly obtuse, its unmodulated tumult leaving little room for nuance or personality.

Clumsy title. Clunky picture.

It must be said, the cheers from moviegoers are, as ever, disconcerting.

One happily trots along with Ballerina as it ventures into absurdity. Its silliness is, at least, compellingly rendered. It helps immensely that de Armas is such a limber, confident action performer.

A surprisingly successful John Wick spinoff.

Ballerina may not satisfy all the John Wick stalwarts. But it does have its own satisfying angles, thanks to two things the filmmakers do radically differently from the rest of the franchise - and one thing they take straight from the series' heart.