When I heard the John Wick universe was getting a female protagonist that was going to ultimately replace its namesake, I was skeptical, and for good reason. 

I don't know anyone except a few perpetually online white knights who truly enjoys being forced to endure the Hollywood trope of the girlboss. Infallible, undefeatable, and perfect in every way except for the fact that she doesn't believe in herself enough, but no worries, she will by the end of the film. 

However, a few things did make me more curious about the film. For one, it's John Wick, and I'm a huge fan of that universe, so I was willing to give the creators of one of my favorite movie franchises the benefit of the doubt. 

Secondly, it starred Ana de Armas, one of my favorite actresses in the running. She was fantastic as Paloma in No Time to Die, and was one of the best parts of Daniel Craig's last outing as Bond. It was a part that proved that she had the chops to be an action heroine, despite her size. 

Both of these facts were enough to get me through my cinema's front door, but The World of John Wick: Ballerina and its leading lady had a lot of hurdles to overcome if it was to live up to the standards set by Keanu Reeves.

I'm happy to report it does just that, and I walked out of the theater, not just pleasantly surprised, but enthusiastic. I wanted more, and that's a feeling I haven't felt about a female-lead film in some time. 

Let's start at the top, and I'll warn you there are minor spoilers ahead. Also, if you'd rather watch my video review, you can watch that here. 

Eve Macarro is a young girl at the start of a film, and she's clearly in hiding with her father. They're found by a group of men bearing "X" scars on their wrists who are revealed to be looking for her, and during the escape, her father — a man with combat skills of Wick's assassin-world caliber — is fatally shot. Eve manages to escape and is later approached by Ian McShane's fan-favorite character, Winston, the hotel manager of The Continental. He takes her to The Director (Anjelica Huston), where she's adopted into the Ruska Roma, the same tribe John Wick belongs to. 

The Director offers her the chance to utilize her pain and become a weapon, and she begins training for years to become a Ruska Roma "ballerina." One day, during a mission, she comes across a man with an X on his wrist. The memory of the mark sends Eve on a bloody quest to uncover her past and avenge her father.

Great setup, but what about the execution? 

In short, it's a well-done thrill ride. 

One of the things the film does right immediately is give Eve her femininity. Many girlboss movies love to throw around the idea of a "strong female protagonist," but then immediately ignore the female aspect of this by making them seem just as strong, fast, and forceful as men. Ballerina doesn't make this mistake. 

During Eve's training montage, she's told by her instructor that she will always be weaker and smaller than her opponents, and so it's up to her to utilize her opponent's weaknesses, be far more improvisational, and "cheat" during a fight. This sets the stage for a lot of Eve's combat style, as she's always looking for — and utilizing — force multipliers during a fight, very rarely ever relying on just her punches and kicks. 

This doesn't just keep Eve safely within the suspension of disbelief, it makes her far more interesting to watch during a fight. Where John Wick is a bit of brute force meeting finesse, Eve is finesse and agility, with a hint of desperation. She's a highly competent combatant who always has to endure her shortcomings during fights, but it also gives her creativity, which is very fun to watch. 

This was its first major roadblock that it drives right through. Giving Eve her femininity while still making her a fighter is something Hollywood had forgotten how to do for years, and the film does a great job of not just giving Eve a great motivation, but she earns her combat capability, and it fits a woman. 

I will say there are moments where the choreography could have been tightened a bit, and there were moments where you could see the stuntmen holding off a split second longer than usual to let Armas get into position, but Armas is actually a pretty great action actress and these moments aren't particularly noticeable if you aren't looking for them. 

Another interesting thing the film does well is a subversion of expectations in a way that isn't corny or tired. Normally, when you hear that phrase, you think of Hollywood filmmakers trying too hard to zig when you expect them to zag. Ballerina pulls this off by setting up camera angles and tropes that you're trained to expect things out of as a moviegoer, then introducing something that surprises you. I found these moments welcoming, because they stop a staleness from developing over the John Wick universe. 

I won't go into the scenes because I want you to be surprised by them, but you'll know them when you see them. 

The one final hurdle it had to overcome is one that almost every girlboss movie trips over, but Ballerina sails over gracefully. 

Most modern female protagonists are depicted as more competent, capable, and skilled than the surrounding males. Even if the entire franchise is built around a heroic, proven male, the writers will neuter the character in order to make the female character seem better artificially. This often ruins the entire established universe the franchise is based in, as its central character becomes a bumbling idiot constantly getting upstaged by his female better. 

Ballerina doesn't make this mistake. 

*SPOILER AHEAD*

As you might have already seen, thanks to the trailers, John Wick makes an appearance in the movie, and he's sent to confront Eve. When he finds her, he tells her to walk away from her mission. She refuses, and the two get into a fight. 

At this point, I expected the movie to do what many other female-lead action movies do, and that's have her beat the established male hero, proving she's the new hero everyone needs to look up to and establishing female supremacy over the franchise. 

That does not happen. 

Wick bodies Eve, and with very little difficulty. No matter how hard she tries, Wick is too skilled, too experienced, and too talented. What's more, during the fight, Wick isn't trying to harm her. He's simply trying to get her to leave, which means he's holding back. So even with Wick pulling his punches, Eve can't overcome him. She's thoroughly humbled and can only reason with him. 

And this actually makes me like Eve more, as she's about to face down an entire army of assassins, and the film has now established that she's no John Wick. She has a very real challenge ahead of her, and she has to fight harder than she ever has before to come out on top. This leads to a fantastic third-act action sequence that lives up to the John Wick franchise. 

My criticisms of the film are actually minor. I do feel like the third act is a bit rushed, and there are characters that I feel like I'm supposed to care about more, but don't get the chance to. The film's pacing doesn't allow it, but I would say this is typical for a John Wick movie. The choreography could use a little more tightening, but again, it wasn't so bad that it took me out of the film. 

I would say that my biggest complaint is that the main villain, The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), isn't exactly as sinister and dangerous as previous villains. Bill Skarsgard's Marquis and Asia Kate Dillon's Adjudicator were far more intimidating in their own ways. The Chancellor feels a bit more like a grandpa trying to play a sinister villain than actually being one. 

But again, none of these negatives really ruined the film, and are minor complaints. The film deserves success, but sadly, it's not getting it. 

As reported by IndieWire, Ballerina is currently sluggish at the box office, with a disappointing opening weekend: 

But for the franchise’s first (big screen) spinoff, one that’s introducing a new character and turns Keanu Reeves’ iconic Wick into a supporting character, it would not have been fair to expect “Ballerina” to continue that growth streak. Still, the Ana de Armas-led action film underperformed even with lower expectations. Opening to an estimated $25 million domestic, it’s lower than all but the original “Wick” movie from 2014, which opened to $14.4 million before becoming a sleeper hit.

I think it's because people have "girlboss-fatigue," and seeing another female standing where a man once did in an action movie, the automatic assumption is that Lionsgate offered the most tired trope of the modern era. 

But it didn't. It actually did right by John Wick fans. 

I recommend going to see Ballerina. Enthusiastically, even. 

We've been shouting from the rooftops that Hollywood needs to stop trying to force horribly written characters and stupid feminization down our throats. Ballerina gives us an actual female action heroine we can appreciate, and I truly feel like that's something that needs to be rewarded. It doesn't insult the audience, it doesn't spit on men, it doesn't try to jump in on a Hollywood trend that audiences have rejected. 

Eve Macarro is an organic character, and one that I'd love to see more of in future Wick universe installments. 

Go see it!