“Ballerina” review: a blatant copy of “John Wick” in the style of Netflix

Asian action cinema is a mixture of spectacle and dramatic, often suspenseful backdrops. The element that Dancerfrom director Lee Jong-hyun takes it to a whole new level. What begins as revenge and a new version of a one-man army, quickly turns into a study in brutality.

Both about the crime (the film’s pessimistic vision of South Korean society is destructive) and about the people who will sooner or later become its victims. The latter are forced to defend themselves as best they can. Meanwhile, revenge becomes the reason to continue killing and eventually risking his life.

Film style Oldboy: Five Days to Get Revenge Posted by Park Chan-Wook, the film begins by clearing up a few things. The world that its main characters encounter is corrupted from the very beginning. This highlights the first scene, in which Ok Joo (Jung Jong Seo) confronts a gang who is trying to attack her.

The aesthetic, which uses light and space to highlight the central figure’s abilities, explains everything there is to know about her. In particular, their skills with weapons and various types of combat are not only extraordinary. Moreover, he is not afraid to kill and will do it as soon as he can.

What’s being called a South Korean (and female) version of John Wick doesn’t deny that it pays homage to Chad Stahelski’s franchise. Ok Joo barely speaks a word as he battles tirelessly among shelves, narrow aisles, and bright lighting that highlights his physical capabilities. Designed to emphasize that he is an enemy who is almost impossible to defeat, this episode also sets the tone and rhythm for everything else. There is not much to add about this young woman of quiet, firm fierceness. Unless it’s practically impossible to stop.

Shots, knives and aim

Having said the above, the film moves forward and delves deeper into its only conflict. This character, ready to attack mercilessly and seemingly invincible, has only one friend in the world. Min Hee (Park Yoo Rim) is a dancer (and the reason for the film’s title) who leads an unhappy life. Something that Ok-ju you’ll know when you find his corpse. A young woman commits suicide and leaves her only message from death as her expression of her desire for revenge. What will cause the chase? on a large scale that will devastate large parts of Seoul, as well as the city’s criminal underworld.

One of the highlights of the script Dancer, written by its director, is that it doesn’t really embellish where the plot is heading. This is a twisted form of justice that will destroy all necessary characters and scenarios. Including the entire drug and human trafficking mafia that controls power in the shadows.

Ok-juhe will take on every organization and bandit, including the elimination of the group that led to the death Min Hee. The latter was raped and blackmailed because the act of violence to which she was subjected was recorded. Gradually, those few details appear in the plot that confirm the events described in it. But he’s not interested in making them more complex or particularly deep.

In this heroless film, in which everyone is killed and tortured in different ways and with varying degrees of cruelty, revenge is the privilege of the strongest. Ok-Joo, a trained bodyguard and assassin, has the edge and won’t hesitate to prove it. The plot details long and spectacular action scenes with simultaneous operation of two cameras, the play of perspective and the use of shadow, expressing the key idea. In this twisted universe, cruelty pays with cruelty. Which will lead its protagonist to the center of the entire toxic network of connections that controls the city.

Satisfying but predictable ending

After nearly an hour of beatings, shooting, beheadings and stabbings, Ok Joo discovers that the monster behind Min Hee’s death is Choi Pro (Kim Ji Hoon). He is not only the rapist who subjected the young woman to the violence depicted in the film. depicts without restrictions. Moreover, he made sure that everything was at his disposal and controlled her, which led her to commit suicide.

As if that weren’t enough, he is the leader of a brutal gang taking over the city. The plot, which does not have much narrative resources, tells the story from the beginning. Which ultimately justifies the protagonist’s revenge and, without a doubt, all the efforts he makes to achieve it. Leaving aside the study of his killer, his past or any details, Besides his ability to kill effectively, the plot focuses on his need for justice.

But beyond the neat choreography that replaces expository dialogue or weighty elements as the story progresses, Bailarina is based on the action section. The point on which he excels and to which he gives the greatest weight of his arguments. From the subjective point of view that uses spilled blood and guts with artistic touches, to the lighting in bright neon tones that gives the film a cyberpunk vibe. Despite its simplicity, the film can be interesting. The strongest point of the feature film.