This movie popped up on my radar outta nowhere, Ballerina (2023), a Korean action thriller.
I’ve got mixed feelings about it. Why? Well, when I saw the trailer, I was expecting a lot more action. But then I noticed the runtime just 93 minutes and right from the get go I knew they were gonna have to rush through a lot.
From the intro, to setting up the characters, to the ending, you can really feel the inconsistency in the story flow. I get it though at that length, they kinda had no choice but to move fast.
For the first 30 minutes, there’s barely any dialogue. Barely. But weirdly, it didn’t bore me either. It actually did a solid job setting the tone, showing us who’s who, and getting the vibe across without spoon feeding anything.
Now about the action it’s there, but not as much as you’d expect. Maybe like 25-30 minutes in total? And yeah, it’s pretty fun to watch when it happens. There’s a stylishness to it, you can tell director Lee Chung-hyun (The Call) knew how to make even a simple fight scene look good.
But honestly, it felt like this movie could’ve, should’ve been way more brutal. Like, you can feel it pulling its punches sometimes. Either they weren’t allowed to go full hardcore, or maybe some stuff got edited out of the final cut.
Story’s dead simple, the protagonist, Ok-ju (played by Jeon Jong-seo, you might remember her from Burning or Money Heist Korea), loses her best friend Min-hee (Park Yoo-rim).
Min-hee leaves a note asking Ok-ju to avenge her death. That’s it. That’s the whole drive of the movie.
You get a few flashbacks sprinkled in showing their bond, how important that friendship was because Ok-ju pretty much had nobody else and it kinda works emotionally, but not fully.
The trafficking and blackmail subplot, honestly, felt heavier and more serious than the friendship angle we were supposed to be most invested in.
If the movie had just a bit more breathing room, they could’ve really built on those characters, made you feel the loss harder, made the revenge hit deeper. You can see the potential. It just doesn’t fully get there.
For what it is though a tight, stylish, simple action revenge flick, it’s a pretty alright watch. Just don’t go in expecting non stop crazy action or a super deep story, and you’ll have a good enough time.
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