Netflix seems to follow a very specific recipe for his Korean content, movie-wise at least, with the majority of the titles being action-oriented, featuring impressive visuals and at least one star in the cast. “Ballerina”, which premiered in this year’s Busan before beginning its rather successful streaming path, definitely ticks all the boxes, being a rather stylish, revenge actioner featuring Jeon Jong-seo of “Burning” and “Money Heist: Korea” in the protagonist role, and Park Yu-rim of “Drive My Car” as the reason behind the revenge.
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After an intense introductory action scene, as seems to be the rule nowadays, the actual story behind Ok-joo, a former bodyguard and Min-hee, her ex best friend who was found murdered one day, is revealed through flashbacks, as much as the reason for the former’s relentless pursuit for revenge. Another friend eventually emerges, but the majority of the film focuses on the particular revenge, which after a point, turns towards the higher ups of the initial perpetrator.
The rather evident and quite easy thing to say is that the script of “Ballerina”, both in structure and pacing, does not make much sense, with the flashbacks being confusing, and the plot holes being quite large throughout. Furthermore, there is not much character development, since even the protagonist is simply ‘analyzed’ through her obsession for revenge. Here, however, is where the first trait of the movie appears, since Jeon Jong-seo in the protagonist role is quite convincing as a goddess of revenge, with her cold eyes and overall demeanor working rather fittingly for the overall narrative here.
The brief ballerina arc, on the other hand, is completely detached from the rest of the story, as are a number of other arcs, but adds to the visual approach here, which can be easily described as stylized, polished, as much as rather brutal, which definitely fits the action element of the movie. As such, DP Cho Young-jik’s cinematography emerges as one of the best aspects of the production, along with Kim Min-hye’s art direction, and the job done in the SFX, which finds its apogee in the action scenes.
That being said, and with the exception of the initial scene, the action does take too long to start, in an aspect that definitely harms the movie overall. On the other hand, as soon as it begins, it is non-stop as it is impressive, with Kim Ji-hun providing a very fittingly hateful villain, and the visuals, the editing, the music, and the action choreography being on a rather high level. Their combination frequently results in a style that can be described as a savage music video, in an approach that adds to the entertainment the whole movie offers, an element that Korean cinema has been excelling for quite some time.
“Ballerina” is a film that will definitely find some appeal among fans of violent action, but the fact that this aspect takes too long to begin, and that there is nothing particularly memorable here, results in another flick that some people will have fun watching, and forget immediately after.
