REVIEW: ‘Ballerina’ is Beautifully Shot Revenge Material

Revenge-focused action films are a dime a dozen in the genre. Forced into further focus with the advent of the John Wick franchise, slickly produced, beautifully shot action fare has risen to the surface. When it’s good, it’s good. Often more than not in recent years, it can feel like a copycat affair. In writer/director Lee Chung-hyun’s latest action thriller, Ballerina, the plot remains standard, but where it finds its success is in its stunning visuals and strong performance led by Jeon Jong-seo.

Ballerina follows Jang Ok-ju (Jeon Jong-seo), a retired bodyguard who, for the most part, is going through the motions. When she’s not beating up thugs, she’s waiting for the spot of joy in her life, Choi Min-hee (Park Yu-rim), to hang out with her. After receiving a call from Min-hee to come over, Ok-ju receives a brutal surprise. A present greets her on Min-hee’s bed with a message to get revenge on her behalf. What follows is the discovery of Min-hee’s suicide and a username that will lead to the culprit behind Min-hee’s sadness.

Not much is revealed about Ok-ju, but flashbacks fill in the gaps as to how Min-hee and her became friends. Shot in a fuzzy daydream afterglow, the importance of Min-hee as Ok-ju’s beacon of light amidst the darkness is easily understood. Knowing that someone has snuffed out that light drives Ok-ju to pursue revenge clinically while also having no qualms about risking her own life and body in the process.

This becomes clear in how, after a phone call to Min-hee’s phone, Ok-ju zeroes in on her target, Choi Pro (Kim Ji-hoon). She tracks him, sneaks into his home, and does whatever she can to put herself in front of him to deliver sweet justice. Choi Pro makes it easy; he holds little regard towards women and is shameless when confronted with a target he can’t quite grasp.

Kim Ji-hoon’s portrayal makes it all the easier to get behind Ok-ju’s mission. He’s played positively evil, without any shred of self-awareness or guilt about his actions. Narcissistic and depraved, once he crosses paths with Ok-ju and faces her head-on, he is truly threatened and is at risk of losing it all. But rather than learn a lesson, cause these types don’t often absorb the lessons of these moments, he can only see one way this ends.

The plot itself runs about how you’d expect a revenge film to go. While there aren’t too many surprises, what keeps things going is Jeon Jong-seo. There’s a complicated inner world beneath the surface. Tiny glimpses of who she is come out via exposition and flashbacks, but a lot of what the audience receives is through Jong-seo’s performance. Her collapsing face upon discovering Min-hee, the rage that consumes her as she confronts Choi Pro, and the moment of brief defeat that flickers when she thinks she’s too late to save someone all of this tells a story made accessible through Jong-seo’s performance.

Ballerina struggles to maintain momentum, with Lee Chung-hyun taking his time to build things up. Taking time to ramp things up is one thing, but there’s a significant dip down as Ballerina transitions from its second act to the third. Almost like a wave that has crashed, we’re left waiting for the water to sink back into the ocean before building up into another wave. Thankfully, the violence that ensues when heading into the big final showdown is much deserved, making up for some of the wasted opportunity lost in that dip.

The action sequences when they arrive don’t drag too long. They are full of frenetic energy. Ok-ju may be a skilled fighter, but she isn’t infallible. She makes mistakes. Led by impulse and emotion, she can get lost in the moment, and it shows in Jeon Jong-seo’s face as the emotion takes hold. The combination of choreography and camerawork helps throw us in there in action with her, and having Ok-ju have moments of vulnerability in the later fight scenes reminds us how incredibly mortal she is.

Speaking of camerawork, Ballerina is exquisitely shot. There are many moments that are snapshot-worthy. With how the actors are framed and the usage of color and lighting to create exquisitely breathtaking shots, this film easily makes the top five in best cinematography executed in an action film this year. And that’s saying a lot, considering what has come out this year.

Lee Chung-hyun’s Ballerina is a decent addition to the action genre, albeit with a slightly forgettable plot. What isn’t forgettable is how hard Jeon Jong-seo goes in her scenes. Whether it’s moments of silence or desperate fights that reveal the turmoil within, she is truly the star of this film. No questions asked

Ballerina is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.