Is the Ballerina 4K Worth Picking Up?
Ballerina was released earlier this year and didn’t make quite as big of an impact as the John Wick series, from which it’s spun off, but it was still an enjoyable enough time. I was lucky enough to get sent a 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray from Lionsgate, so I took a look at some of the special features to get some insight into the behind-the-scenes of the film and see if it’s worth a pick up for you guys. While it’s to be expected, there isn’t any insight into the reshoots that took over the movie. We may have to wait several years for more to come out about that. It’s pretty much what you would expect with multiple featurettes and some deleted/extended scenes.
On the technical side, the 4K is near reference level, fully taking advantage of both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. This shouldn’t be a shocker for anyone that’s seen those John Wick 4K’s, as they’re also absolutely beautiful.
Special Features:
The Making of Ballerina (10:54) – A pretty by-the-numbers behind the scenes featurette that doesn’t really have the length to properly go over the film in any deeper capacity. It’s pretty basic and doesn’t give much of a look in its relatively short runtime and feels more like an advertisement for the film versus something that will reward those that are already fans of the film.
Building a Frozen Underworld (6:10) – Getting into the ice house set piece, how they built it, and help differentiate it from similar scenes from the series.
The Art of Action (11:10) – Gets into more of the action of the film, and what their approach was to some of the major set pieces. This is easily the most interesting of the docs, as it goes more into the process of “why” they shot scenes a specific way. From Norman Reedus talking up the professionalism of the stunt crew to how some of the stunt performers have actual roles in the film. It was also cool to see how much Len Wiseman was involved with some of the props.
Deleted/Extended Scenes (29:49) – There’s honestly a lot more here than I was expecting. Usually these scenes are quite brief with small moments being cut out. But there’s actually a lot in terms of character moments with Eve, as well as the people hunting her down. I get why they cut these as they were clearly going for a film that had relentless pacing, but it’s a shame as there are some good moments in here that may have resulted in a better, more well-rounded film.
If you’re a fan of the John Wick series, then Ballerina is a fun enough time, although definitely doesn’t quite live up to those films. As far as the Physical Edition, there are some entertaining enough special features, although it really only goes surface level. This is really just for Fans Only.
For those that don’t know, here’s the plot to Ballerina: “Taking place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Ballerina follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), who is beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma. As Eve’s story unfolds, she uses her marksmanship, cunning, and hand-to-hand combat skills to rip through a sect of the assassin order that destroyed an aspect of her life.“
Ana de Armas leads Ballerina, with Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Anne Parillaud, David Castañeda, Abraham Popoola, Ian McShane, and Keanu Reeves rounding out the cast.
BALLERINA IS NOW AVAILABLE ON 4K ULTRA HD, BLU-RAY, DVD AND DIGITAL.
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