Review: PRETTY LETHAL is a Graceful & Gory Good Time

It takes guts to go toe-to-toe with the John Wick universe, but Pretty Lethal isn't afraid of Ballerina. Both films promote the elegant style of "Ballerina Fu," but director Vicky Jewson's is a bit more bubblegum-poppy in its take on American dancers versus Hungarian mobsters. Funnily enough, it also pits longtime collaborators David Leitch and Chad Stahelski against one another, or more appropriately, Leitch's 87North Productions against Stahelski's 87Eleven Entertainment. It's Leitch who partners with Jewson on Pretty Lethal (versus Stahelski's work on Ballerina), a pretty fun lil' ass-beater made for streaming on Prime Video.

Maddie Ziegler stars as "Bones," a rebellious ballet student at Sunset Dance LA. Her troupe, led by fastidious Brit Ms. Thorna (Lydia Leonard), has been selected to perform at an international gala in Budapest, Hungary. Unfortunately, their flight is diverted, and then their bus breaks down with some 360 miles still to go. On foot, the girls seek help at the nearby Teremok Inn, owned by Devora Kasimer (Uma Thurman), a ballet prodigy with a tragic history. But their night goes from bad to worse when Pasha (Tamás Szabó Sipos), the reckless son of a crime boss, forces Ms. Thorna's flock to fight their way out of a Teremok Inn, now filled with rough-and-tumble thugs.

It is, as expected, a ridiculous concept. Writer Kate Freund doesn't care all that much about having us believe the scenario is plausible. Pretty Lethal is a loopy action flick tailored for women, made by women, and caters to its target audience first. Sure, that leaves some preposterous details dangling, and hinges much of the audience's enjoyment on adrenaline-fueled entertainment that can be thinly written. Freund's story ping-pongs between tonal shifts in a jumble, whether it's sleek reenactments of over-the-top action spectacles, comedic drug-trip hallucinations, or the darkness of merciless survival thrillers.

That said, Jewson's immersive use of ballet culture is an alluring feature. It's not just about the cast being dressed in their pristine white tutus (before they're stained with blood). 87North's stunt teams blend graceful choreography set to classics like "The Nutcracker," where box cutters are wrapped onto slippers, and pirouettes are blended into combat combinations. Bones speaks valiantly about the torture ballerinas endure, dancing through immense pain and physical distress, which translates into the girls' heroic spirits. These are all-star athletes using memorized routines to beat the snot out of drunk, out-of-shape henchmen, creating a beautiful synchrony of vengeful violence and visual bliss, while making the most of the cast's on-stage training.

Speaking of, the ensemble around Ziegler is clearly having a blast. Lana Condor is Bones' snippy in-group nemesis, the rich snob who's finally forced to fend for herself without daddy's rescue. Avantika makes us smile as Grace, a religious girl who's drugged and spirals into fits of giggly honesty. Then there's Iris Apatow's Zoe, sister to Millicent Simmonds' deaf Chloe, who tests their bond as siblings but, more importantly, tries to ensure Chloe is always up to speed (after her hearing aid breaks). It's your average group of bickering protagonists challenged under pressure, but their chemistry during action sequences is thick as thieves, accentuating the determined and durable mindsets of ballerinas, otherwise seen as fragile and controllable. Porcelain dolls become expert assassins, purely by using the skills they've learned that others discredit.

The duality of Thurman's Devora Kasimer holding power over the Teremok is a nice touch, as she deals with both Pasha's syndicate and her guests, whom she mutually respects as artists, but recognizes as a loose end. Thurman falls into the role, still holding a grudge over the act that cost her a ballet career, which informs her stern decisions. There's a ruthlessness that pairs wonderfully with her dance-technique obsession, especially when we glimpse her quarters, filled with her old ballet paraphernalia, including her Swan Queen costume that she never got to wear in front of audiences. Thurman gets to be broken, go a bit bananas, but always be this stone-cold anchor who makes the underworld men around her look like slobbish, inexperienced fools. It's a wonderful chance for Thurman to shine, and unsurprisingly, she crushes the opportunity, accent and all.

Many Wickian knockoffs have tried and failed to achieve what Pretty Lethal does. It's not a perfect movie by any regard, but as a popcorn-driven streaming title? It doesn't have to display such gorgeous Teremok production value (that bar area) or lean into artfully conducted violence that sheds buckets of blood. Jewson's "girlie" action flick hits back, takes pride in its bruises, and is anything but a reductive description. Pretty Lethal didn't have to go this hard, frankly, but I'm sure glad it does.

Movie Score: 3.5/5