Synopsis: Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldn't protect, an ex-bodyguard sets out to fulfil her dear friend's last wish of revenge. (92 Mins)

 

Views: Okju, a tough female ex-bodyguard, gets a call from her closest friend Min-hee to meet up, but when she arrives at her home, has to let herself in knowing that something isn't right. She finds a box on the bed which holds Min-hee's ballet shoes and note asking for Okju to seek revenge for her by taking down a man known only as Chef Choi – a sex trafficker who uses videos of his victims to extort money from them. After Okju finds her friend's body in the bath, where Min-hee had taken her own life, she begins her mission in finding the man responsible but soon finds that she may have gotten herself into something much bigger than expected. Barely escaping with her life after Chef Choi invites her back to a secret hotel, Okju soon has one of South Korea's most brutal criminal gangs hot on her heels and forges a new plan with another one of their victims to bring them down!

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Baring many similarities to Jang Hyuk's action-thriller The Killer from the previous year, Ballerina offers just as much brutality, hardcore action, and wild characters; very neatly delivered by director Lee Chung-Hyun in what would only be his second feature film after the fantastic time-hopping thriller, The Call. From the use of sedative drugs in fish-shaped soy sauce bottles to the old couple who provide Okju with weapons from the back of their motorhome, Ballerina plays like a live-action comic book which is highlighted even more-so by its stunning cinematography, making it look like every frame – especially the action scenes – had been lifted right from the page of a popular manga offering the same tones and colour palette of a Wong Kar Wai movie in places. At the same time, Ballerina is a film that I could easily see fit into Jason Statham's filmography, offering a lead character that gives the same stoic approach like many of his past roles and sees the action delivered in a way very similar to what the Hollywood star has so often done...

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Award-winning actress Jeon Jong-seo stars as the kick-ass and no-nonsense Okju, offering up another fantastic performance that shows, once again, that she is a name to keep an eye on. Sine making her incredible debut in the 2018 film, Burning, Jeon made even more of an impression with her follow-up role in Lee Chung-Hyun's aforementioned thriller, The Call – their first film together. But it would be Hollywood who would soon come calling, casting her alongside Kate Hudson and Ed Skrein in the impressive Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon. After a role in the rom-com Nothing Serious offered her a change of pace Jong-seo spent 2022 on the small screen starring in K-dramas Bargain and Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, where she would first work with her Ballerina co-star and villain of the piece, the gorgeous Kim Ji-hoon. Starting off on television shows Leobing Yu and Great Inheritance back in the early 2000s, Kim soon became a sought after young star going onto play King Hyun -Jong for 78 episodes in The Iron Empress, as well as long running K-dramas such as Goddess Of Marriage, Jang Bo Ro Is Here, Bad Thief Good Thief, and Rich Family's Son. A leading role in the aforementioned Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area saw him star alongside Jeon Jong-seo for the first time, which no doubt helped their tense starring roles together here in Ballerina. As sex-trafficker and all-round bad boy with a love for BDSM and sexual fetish, Chef Choi, Kim proves to be a villain you love-to-hate as well as looking incredibly hot at the same time, oozing that bad boy charm that no doubt helped him lure in many victims. In essence, as an antagonist, he's a man who is very beautiful on the outside yet incredibly ugly on the inside. Park Yu-rim, star of the award winning Drive My Car, wonderful K-drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and Miracle Brothers, stars as the unfortunate titular character of the film, Min-hee the ballerina, getting a little more screen time through flashbacks with Okju that show just special and loving their relationship really was. The cast is topped off with Kim Mu-Yeol, from films such as Illang The Wolf Brigade and Space Sweepers, Jang Yoon-ju (also from the aforementioned Money Heist show), and prolific actress Kim Young-ok – who gives a hilarious performance as the pensioner weapons dealer – who help flesh things out, along with a few other main characters and number of extras.

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South Korean rapper, Lee Seong-hwa – better know as GRAY – composes the films pumping score that accompanies the powerful fight scenes on offer; both of which will certainly get the adrenaline going that saw Jeon Jong-seo train extensively for months in martial arts in order to perform her own stunts. This begins with an introductory fight in a convenience store that sees Okju take on a gang of would-be robbers after interrupting their attempt to clear the cash register. It's gives viewers an exciting taste of what to expect, and it doesn't take long for things to kick-off when the mission for revenge begins. From her brutal escape during her first encounter with Chef Choi, that makes for plenty of cringe-worthy moments of pain that keep you on the edge of your seat before she goes up against guns and chainsaws, to the infiltration of the drug farm that sees Okju single-handedly take on 30 men, Ballerina offers up some incredible moments of fight action that rival that seen in any male-led action flick including the aforementioned film The Killer, Oldboy, and even John Wick, respectively. While it doesn't try to be anything other than a revenge thriller with heart, Ballerina proves to be a winner that should excite fans of the aforementioned titles and action cinema in general along with its neon visuals, great soundtrack, and strong cast!

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Overall: Thrilling, brilliantly made, and crammed full of brutal action, Ballerina is a strong female-led revenge thriller that gets the adrenaline going and doesn't disappoint!