The lackluster reviews to have greeted spin-off series The Continental has set a dangerous precedent for John Wick spin-offs that don’t have director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves front and center, with the acclaim to have greeted Netflix’s new action thriller presenting a tall order for next year’s Ballerina to exceed.
Not only do the two projects share identical titles, but Len Wiseman’s upcoming offshoot starring Ana de Armas and Lee Chung-hyun’s frenetic streaming exclusive both focus on a female protagonist hunting down and exacting brutal and bloody revenge on those responsible for the murder of somebody they held very dear to their heart, with the world of ballet obviously playing a pivotal role, too.
As the architect of the Underworld franchise, Live Free or Die Hard, and the Total Recall reboot, it’s difficult to see Wiseman’s Ballerina matching Netflix’s, which currently holds a perfect 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing. Not only that, but the brutal dive into the criminal underworld has also arrived as one of the streaming service’s biggest new hits.
Per FlixPatrol, Ballerina has debuted as a Top 10 movie in 70 countries, placing it fifth on the global charts. At a fast-paced 93 minutes, the story focuses just as much on character as it does hard-hitting fisticuffs and weapons-based carnage, but there’s no shortage of that, either.
The gauntlet has officially been thrown down, and the chances of a billion-dollar franchise that’s enjoyed nothing but acclaim on the big screen delivering the best Ballerina have just gotten a lot slimmer.
