A Bailarina (2023)

Fast revenge

The beginning was satisfying. The end was very satisfying. The middle - not so much.

It was a great idea: an ex-assassin seeking revenge on behalf of a friend. It was too short to fully explore the story. It felt like the writer wanted to say something and decided to say it really quickly.

The main actor's portrayal of the character was great: the concentration and quiet confidence was there, but it's a shame that there wasn't more depth to the character and story. The villain was beautiful (such a strong stereotype that even if we didn't know it was him, we would guess it was him) and evil enough for you to wish that someone would put him in his place.

What I liked: the fight scenes were great
What I didn't like: some of the fight scenes were too graphic

It's watchable...ish....

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Known concept, interesting execution

The amount of movies and dramas I have seen about this kind of topic is high, but this particular movie stood out for me. The storytelling and the movie's portrayal were really good and kept me hooked for the whole time. I liked how some of the cast members reunited from Money Heist: Korea and it was nice to see them together again. Although there were some moments that I didn't find interesting, but they were important for the action passages and other scenes so it's okay. Finally, there was a movie where revenge was really what I wanted and it was a book example of how to avenge people.

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more punching and less talking

This movie can be best described as climactic. The action scenes are exceptionally well-executed, creating a sense of excitement and intensity. The protagonist's fighting style is both stylish and effective, making it satisfying to watch her take on multiple opponents effortlessly. Additionally, the movie delves into important themes such as exploitation and abuse, shedding light on power dynamics and the struggles faced by the oppressed. It also serves as an empowering story for women.

The plot circles around badass women killing men for revenge, if that doesn't sound intriguing to you then I don't know what is. I specifically love the ending, she should've burned him to toast that even dogs can't eat him anymore. I know it's for "a friend" but my delusions tell me she's gay and she's getting revenge for her girlfriend. Nonetheless, the chemistry was there. This film didn't focus much on the acting, plot, or dialogue. It was like more punching and less talking lol.

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Good fight scenes, but lacking in plot and character depth

I admit that the movie was shot beautifully, with lots of nice camera work and colors. However, I was a bit underwhelm with the story/plot and character development. The action scenes and the good acting were about the only reasons I gave this a decent rating. I just wanted to know more about the two main characters: Jang Ok Ju and Choi Pro. Although the “ballerina”, her best friend’s death and revenge request, was what promulgated Jang Ok Ju to action/violence, I wanted to know more about Jan Ok Ju and Choi Pro. I also didn’t quite know the timeline such as how long Jang Ok Ju and the ballerina, Choi Min Hee, had been best of friends. It seems they knew each other from middle school and met-up again as adults. So maybe Min Hee was everything to Ok Ju since it looked like Ok Ju didn’t have many friends or even family. In all honesty, I had two lingering disappointments or maybe disbeliefs. The first is that Choi Pro was really not the all powerful and independent villain since he was in a gang and reported to someone more powerful. That kind of took his evil aura and mystery away. The second is after Jang Ok Ju went and asked a former colleague in her security firm for some firearms/weapons. I was expecting this lady to hand over some cache of modern automatic rifles, etc., but she ended up dealing with an old couple in a rusty RV with even more rusty and old handguns and revolvers. I think it would’ve been better if they just cut out the whole gang and gang overlord scenes. They didn’t add any more value to the movie. Even the high school girl could be left out. Would I watch it again? No, but I did enjoy the action/fight scenes.

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Visually Orgasmic With Brilliant Colors and Fight Scenes

The storyline is very simple.
Revenge for a female friend.
Revenge for all those that came before or after her.

The cinematography is what makes this movie. The spins, the angles, and the brilliantly placed COLORS. Like something straight out of the Cyberpunk world: there are neons that highlight and low-light the entire film. It's fast-paced, and the angles are perfectly planned like something straight out of a well-drawn graphic novel. It doesn't require a heavy amount of brain-power, but is an absolute feast for the eyes. I would definitely suggest you watch. For any videographer, photographer, artist, or even for your one-time viewer. You won't be sorry you spent your time watching it.

Leia Mais

Despite flaws in writing / characterization, entertaining action movie with beautiful filmmaking

This action movie has a pretty simple and straightforward premise carried by some beautiful filmmaking and solid acting. It is pretty short but delivers efficiently and brutaly on the action side.

The story is very predictable (even the endingwas super obvious while satisfying) but it is enteraining and well-paced. I wish the characters would have been more developped as well as their respective background but the writing did not really focus on building them. That's why the protagonists and antagonists seems pretty caricatural.

Fortunately, the acting convinced me much more than the writing of the characters. Jeon Jong Seo is quite good in the action sequences and Kim Ji Hoon is adequately playing this repugnant villain.

The biggest asset of the movie resides in its filmmaking, there are really a lot of beautifully filmed scenes and the saturated colors of the decors are working superbly bringing the story together. It gives an indie feel but with big budget at the same time, with some strong artistic choices. The music did not leave a strong impression on me but was okay overall.

I would recommend this movie to people looking for an action movie and who enjoy revenge trope. It could have been much better in terms of scenario and characterization but it has a nice pace and with very pleasant for the eyes filmmaking. Be mindful of the triggers as it is very violent and includes a lot of problematic and traumatic elements.

Leia Mais

Kick ass movie with fresh action

This proves Korean cinemas ability to make high quality quality action flick with a woman as main lead even better than John Wick. It has a strong drive, very strong villain and excellent music. The strong female lead drives it through with her charisma and thoroughness. Such a well made movie. No nonsense sex scenes like the ones in Hollywood. There is no lag in the movie and the movie swings by in a zippy. This is a needed movie. It shows how today’s clubs massage parlours still have shady things and shady people. This movie literally kicked me out of my drama slump and out of the couch. I feel so energised after seeing it. It’s definitely not for the faint hearted.

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Emotional, Dark, Sweet Revenge.

This movie is about a girl who is on a mission seeking revenge on behalf of her friend. She encountered a dark world of blackmailing, extortion and drugs.
If you're into action and revenge stories ( John Wick style ), then you gonna love this movie.
The lights, the cinematography, the choreography of the fights, everything is amazing.
The story is good, some people say it's superficial, I don't think so, it's a MOVIE, not a series, so ofcourse it won't have so much details.
The soundtracks are top notch, and acting was great!
Overall, an amazing movie to watch, I'm sure if I get the chance I'll re-watch it many times!
I would love a sequel!! 😍

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Ballerina; A Messy Pirouette Marked With Blood…

2023 has seen a great lineup of action thrillers, especially with strong heroines and Ballerina certainly tries to follow suit. However while did have some heavy action scenes and subjects, was it really a worthwhile watch?


Lee Chung Hyun directed and wrote the movie. Ok Ju ( Jeon Jong-seo) is a bodyguard who holds her own in fights. However, her life turns upside down when she discovers her friend and ballerina Min-hee (Park Yu-rim)’s fatal aftermath in the wake of being sexually assaulted by mid-level boss Choi Pro (Kim Ji-hoon).


Now seeking her revenge, she is put on a bloody path to enact vengeance on Choi Pro and his cronies by ending him once and for all.


It’s suffice to say Ballerina is very much what it says on the tin; a revenge movie where the heroine gets revenge by tracking down the big bad and leaving a wake of carnage in her way. The film is gory and filled with adrenaline, but that’s about it.

This isn’t necessarily bad. A lot of revenge and action films work on the premise of mindless violence to keep viewers engaged and it was evident to see the film’s influences from John Wick to Kill Bill. However, Ballerina never really gives us full scope that it tries to do with its characters and plot. It always tethers on potential development before tearing it away to focus on a fist fight and action scene.

The problem is that doesn’t really give the narrative or characters a lot of backbone. Even some of the most disturbing revenge Korean films over the past few decades such as Oldboy, Lady Vengeance and Burning are able to balance out their narratives with adrenaline, and tension, but equally compelling storylines and choreography. In Oldboy, we see plot twist development shock us beyond belief, Lady Vengeance is filled with complex characterisation and compelling fight scenes, while Burning explores tension and thematic issues such as capitalism in its core narrative . The problem with Ballerina is that while it doesn’t have to be a complicated movie at heart like some of its predecessors , it struggles with simple basics such as characterisation and development.


Jeon Jong-seo is a good actress but her character Ok Ju is very paper-thin. The audience never have any opportunities to warm up to her. It seems quite ridiculous when we consider the fact that we’ve seen Jong-seo lose a close friend and numerous hardships, yet we never see this develop or understand how this is such a devastating impact for her character. We do see some flashbacks to understand their relationship but this felt a little convoluted than explained or poignant, lacking a lot of potentially sincere emotional development. Sure, she’s a certified pro- fighter and brutal, but that’s pretty much in the space of this movie’s duration, all we get from our heroine’s character.


It was Kim Ji hoon’s role as Choi Pro which did shine through here. His cartoonish heinousness did help during some of the more questionable pacing and writing issues, by at least giving some appeal for the audience to root for the heroine.


The pacing is pretty variable in parts. When the action comes into force, it’s quick and adrenaline rushes. Yet in its patchy narrative and writing moments drawn out for sobs or seeming development, the gaps in writing often make these scenes drag out longer than they should.


Naturally, action choreography and actions scenes are where Ballerina excels. Lee Chung-hyun’s direction is simultaneously ultraviolent yet sleek. Its mesmerising to watch with the pure adrenaline of movements and camera angles really bringing these scenes to life.



Ballerina is a fairly mindless action movie. While probably not one of the best films released this year or winning over fans of revenge action films and cult classics, it is adrenaline infused and brutal. The writing is patchy but it’s well-directed through its camera angles and the fight scenes are well-executed also. Overall probably decent enough to watch one time when bored or killing time and that’s about it.

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