India, June 12 -- There is a moment in Len Wiseman's Ballerina, where the protagonist Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) is rebuked by her mentor, the Director (Anjelica Huston), for using brute strength in a fight against a man. "Fight like a girl," she tells her. The moment marks a shift in the tone of this John Wick spinoff, because thereon, Ana and the film ensure that they are no longer John Wick clones. Ballerina is a worthy successor to the John Wick series, and in some sequences, it even surpasses the originals. The film starts slow, but soon catches up with relentless action, magnificently choreographed action sequences, beautiful cinematography, and a sublime Ana de Armas.

Ballerina is set before the events of John Wick Chapter 4, and ...