PRETTY LETHAL -- What John Wick’s Ballerina Should’ve Been

Review by Steve Barton II

If you were told to think of the first word that comes to mind when you hear “Ballerina”, what would you say? Beautiful tutus, classical music, tiny shoes that strike horror into any size 13 foot and several other characteristics of these artists and their craft. Pretty Lethal has all of these elements plus an unexpected twist of being extremely violent! Pretty Lethal follows a group of ballerinas as they travel across Hungary on their way to a competition in Budapest. After their bus breaks down, they are taken in by the people of the Teremok Inn and the girls quickly realize that these nice people are actually a gang of criminals who only want to cause them harm. 

Pretty Lethal was a complete surprise with how much fun the watching experience was! It began like many similar movies with a simple setup to introduce the characters and get them to the uniquely designed Teremok Inn. Once the major inciting incident happens, the girls are forced to take action and the insanity levels begin to rise to levels previously thought impossible for a ballerina film! The shock to the system with its tone can only be compared to 2015’s Green Room and the insanely violent battle for survival. Pretty Lethal still has its unique look with its dynamic camera that sweeps through the incredibly choreographed dances and fights. The editing also amplifies those scenes with perfectly placed music to add wordless punchlines to moments that will make anyone giggle. The precision of how these scenes were carefully crafted have a similar feel to Edgar Wright’s style in the bar scene from Shaun of the Dead.

While Uma Thurman does provide the star power for Pretty Lethal and delivers a powerful performance, the group of young women really steal the show. The whole group filled their roles perfectly and their commitment to the dance and fight choreography should be recognized and praised. Major props to Millicent Simmonds for her performance and how her on-screen presence has grown so much since we first met her in A Quiet Place back in 2018. Maddie Ziegler came from a dancing background (even being on Lifetime's Dance Moms as a child), so she was able to bring a level of authenticity for the main protagonist and made it believable when she ultimately rose up to become the hero.

Ultimately, Pretty Lethal is a stylized action/thriller that will satisfy most genre fans. With incredible action sequences, buckets of blood, colorful characters and unpredictable moments it’s hard to imagine not having fun while watching this film. Some of the dialogue might be considered “cringe” with how obvious and cheesy it sounds, but it also felt like it was intended to make the audience wince and be in on the joke itself. There was even a moment where an adversary reacted to one of those lines how the audience would and if Pretty Lethal had been released in theaters, it would’ve been a roar-inducing moment among the crowd! If movie night is approaching and you’re scanning the streamers to find a 90-minute thrill ride, look no further than Pretty Lethal!

Pretty Lethal is now available on Prime Video!

Rating: 4/5