In contrast, “Ballerina”—like the four John Wick films that it’s spun off from—is, strangely, far better at story than at action. The first John Wick film is the weakest, because the framework for the franchise was still unformed: a retired hit man (Keanu Reeves) gets back into action to respond to a mobster’s attacks.

Perhaps that’s aided by the casting of Ana De Armas as Eve, the ballerina/assassin (stay with me) who gives the film her absolute all, scowling and glaring with a vicious intensity as she brutally slays countless enemies.