For better or worse, “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina” delivers exactly what it promises: a high-octane, hyper-stylized detour into the Wick-verse, led by Ana de Armas and powered by an almost nonstop parade of meticulously choreographed violence. It’s bold, it’s bloody—and at times, a bit exhausting.

Set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, the Len Wiseman-directed spinoff follows Eve Macarro (de Armas), a young assassin trained by the same brutal ballet academy introduced in Parabellum. After witnessing the murder of her father as a child, Eve is raised by The Ruska Roma, a clandestine syndicate that transforms orphaned girls into efficient killers. Her quest for revenge draws her back into the criminal underworld—and into the orbit of familiar faces including Winston (Ian McShane), Charon (the late Lance Reddick), and The Director (Anjelica Huston). Keanu Reeves returns as John Wick in two brief but pivotal appearances that bookend the narrative.

Wiseman directs with a sure hand that leans heavy into highly stylized and choreographed mayhem. The film wastes no time plunging Eve into a gauntlet of bruising encounters, from hand-to-hand duels to room-clearing grenade tosses. And while the action rarely slows, it occasionally drags. At just over two hours, the film’s near-continuous combat—stylish though it may be—risks becoming a bit repetitive, lessening the impact of even its more creative touches.

Dishes, Grenades, and Flamethrowers

What works best here are the film’s moments of creativity amid the chaos. One standout sequence takes place in a kitchen at a snowy mountain lodge nestled in a remote village, where Eve and her adversary use every culinary item in reach—from chef’s knives to a meat pounder—before launching into a surprisingly amusing face-off involving a stack of white dinner plates and a misplaced pistol.

Another sequence features Eve trapped in a weapons room that appears prepped for a global conflict (there seems to be a lot of weapon rooms in this movie with limitless supplies of ammunition); she straps herself with grenades and turns the tide of battle with the kind of blunt-force chaos that fans of the Wick movies have come to expect. And yes, there’s even a flamethrower duel—over-the-top, to be sure, but executed with a certain pyrotechnic flair.

But it’s hard to ignore the fatigue that sets in by the final act. Ballerina rarely pauses for breath, and while that relentless pacing mirrors the other John Wick outings, the result here feels less weighty. Where the original John Wick drew its power from personal loss and precision, Ballerina opts for spectacle—and a sky-high body count that starts to blur the stakes.

Still, fans of the Wick-world will likely walk away satisfied. It’s not quite on the level of the mainline entries, but it serves its purpose as a sleek, aggressive spinoff that keeps the engine running.

And for those concerned: no puppies were harmed in the making of this film—though, sadly, none were included either.