High-Octane
Summary
Ballerina has a bit of a slow first half but it has some gorgeous visuals, brutal fight scenes and some vicious kills making it worth checking out at least once.
Plot: Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldn’t protect, an ex-bodyguard sets out to fulfill her dear friend’s last wish: sweet revenge.
Review: Ballerina is another movie I’d heard good things about, so I watched it on the plane coming back from Scotland after Christmas. This isn’t the John Wick spin-off of the same name but a Korean movie about a woman called Okju (Jeon Jong-seo) who is out for revenge after her best friend dies.
It starts off well with an awesome fight scene in a convenience store during a robbery then the pacing really slows for about half an hour with no action to speak of, making things a little dull.
It eventually picks up and we get some more action scenes and this movie doesn’t skimp on violence with some awesome moments like a goon being fed broken glass as Okju punches him in the face repeatedly. Someone is also disposed of with a flamethrower which is always spectacular.
Ballerina is just 90 minutes long and there is enough action in the second half of the film to make it worth watching. It’s also incredibly stylish with some nice camerawork, cool music and neon lighting which helps to create the seedy atmosphere of the film.
The characters aren’t especially exciting or memorable and the movie lacks personality which is why it’s not something I’d watch that often but it’s definitely worth checking out.
Overall, Ballerina is a hardcore action movie with some brutal kills and vicious fight scenes; the characters aren’t especially memorable and the first half is a little slow at times but if you’re looking for 90 minutes of stylish violence you could do a lot worse.
