Ballerina Review: Directed and written by Lee Chung-hyun and produced by Byun Seung-min and Choi Ji-young, the Korean Movie (발레리나) stars Jeon Jong-seo, Kim Ji-hun, Park Yu-rin, Shin Se-hwi, Kim Mu-yeol and others. It movie has a runtime of 94 minutes. Originally made to target the Korean audiences, Ballerina has also been released with English, Arabic, Portuguese, Japanese and more language subtitles for international audiences. Additionally, Hindi, English, Spanish Portuguese, French, German, Thai and more dubbed audio will also be available to make it more accessible to a wide variety of viewers.

Ballerina Korean Movie Review Contains No Spoilers

Ballerina 2023 Plot

The story centres around a former bodyguard, Ok-ju. She excels in physical activities like martial arts, sword fighting, marksmanship, and motorcycle riding. Ok-ju is friends with Min-hee, who is a Ballerina. One day, Min-hee calls Ok-ju to her place, and when she arrives, she finds out that Min-hee has taken her own life and left a note for Ok-ju, asking her to seek revenge on her behalf. Fuelled by a resolute determination to mete out justice for her cherished friend, Ok-ju embarks on a mission to avenge Min-hee’s untimely demise.

Ballerina Review

It has always been thrilling to watch women in action, and Korean movies and series have never failed to deliver. The movie’s premise and progression are as straightforward as a story can get. The protagonist knows the name of who is responsible for her friend’s death, and all she needs to do is track down the bad guys and then eliminate them. It may seem bare-bones, but over the past decade, some of the greatest female-centric action movies produced in Korea – like My Name or The Villainess – have done away with convoluted plots and instead focussed on physical storytelling and spectacular choreography. This raises the expectations for storytelling in this movie too.

Ballerina explores themes of justice, friendship, and the lengths one is willing to go to seek vengeance. It delves into the moral complexities of revenge, showcasing the consequences of such a path. The action in the movie is chilling and won’t disappoint you, but the storytelling will make you feel that there was a lot missing in the plot. What was the actual depth of the relationship between Min-hee and Ok-ju? Rather than merely implying that it was more than just platonic, the movie might have been a genuine game-changer. As it stands, Ballerina is a polished yet disposable experience, as it has a lot of issues.

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In the movie, we do get to see some flashbacks to establish the basis of Ok-ju and Min-hee’s friendship. However, those memories of them sharing a birthday cake or strolling on a beach are so paper-thin that they feel perfunctory instead of potent. Thankfully, the heinousness of the movie’s villains picks up the slack, giving us more than enough reason to root for our protagonist. The actors in the movie have done a decent job; they are the reason you will be hooked on the entire movie. Another issue I found in the movie was it how did not reveale the characters’ names, except for the leads, who also played an important part.

The movie’s visual aesthetic is pleasing, with the prominent use of the colour red to symbolise danger and the martial arts madness is dazzling. The stunt work has been choreographed beautifully, which succeeds in making every cut, blow, and gunshot feel as real as possible.

Ballerina Netflix Movie Review: Final Thoughts

Ballerina is a polished but ultimately one-time watch experience. It has its moments of excitement and visually striking elements, but it falls short in terms of narrative depth and character development. For fans of Korean action cinema, it may provide a satisfactory viewing experience, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights of some of its predecessors in the genre.

Watch Ballerina on Netflix.

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