Pretty Lethal (2026) Review!!

Synopsis – It follows a group of ballerinas as they try to escape from a remote inn after their bus breaks down on the way to a dance competition.

My Take – While last year’s Ballerina (2025)—or, as the marketing insists, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina—did little to prove that the John Wick universe could sustain meaningful expansion, or that audiences were clamoring for a ballet-infused action thriller (despite barely committing to the “ballet” part at all), this latest effort from 87North Productions at least leans fully into the concept.

Here, ballet dancers actually weaponize their craft, using precision, stamina, and discipline to dispatch a parade of Eastern European thugs. It’s a clever hook—re-framing performers often underestimated for their grace as formidable fighters shaped by one of the most punishing physical arts. But though there’s enough here to suggest a film that could’ve worked: a game cast, a premise bursting with pulpy potential, and a streak of dark humor that occasionally lands with a satisfyingly sinister edge.

Sadly, the film can’t quite reconcile its own identity, awkwardly oscillating between straight-faced seriousness and winking absurdity without ever finding a rhythm that sticks.

Sure, the action is slick and at times genuinely inventive. Yet even with all the right ingredients in place, the film serves as a reminder that a strong concept alone isn’t enough—it needs cohesion, conviction, and a clear tonal vision to truly land. As director Vicky Jewson (Close, Lady Godiva) and writer Kate Freund ultimately squander a premise rich with possibility—ballerinas in tutus, blades hidden in pointe shoes and all—instead choosing to deliver a curiously flat, half-baked actioner that feels destined to fade into Prime Video‘s ever growing library.

The story follows an LA ballet troupe made up of Bones (Maddie Ziegler), Princess (Lana Condor), Grace (Avantika), Chloe (Millicent Simmonds), and Zoe (Iris Apatow). Though undeniably talented, the group is plagued by internal friction, their constant infighting threatening to derail both their rehearsals and their shot at success. Their troubles escalate when their bus breaks down on route to a major dance competition in Budapest.

Stranded and desperate for help, the girls along with their instructor, Thorna Davenport (Lydia Leonard), stumble upon a remote inn run by former ballet prodigy Devora Kasimer (Uma Thurman). What initially seems like a stroke of luck quickly spirals into something far more dangerous. After Thorna violently rebuffs the unwanted advances of ruthless gangster Pasha Marcovic (Tamás Szabó Sipos)—an act that ends in her being shot point-blank—the troupe is thrust into a brutal fight for survival, trapped between a gang of bloodthirsty criminals and any hope of escape.

Clocking in at under 90 minutes, director Jewson packs in enough slicing, stabbing, and limb-lopping mayhem to firmly plant the film in R-rated territory. That relentless burst of violence gives the film a jolt of energy, even if it occasionally exposes how bare-bones Freund’s script really is.

To her credit, she clearly has fun staging scrappy, stripped-down action beats that feel like bargain-bin riffs on John Wick. The choreography cleverly leans into what the characters lack as trained fighters, while amplifying what they do have—discipline, endurance, and precision honed through ballet. And despite what a celebrity once controversially suggested, ballet is anything but delicate—it’s grueling, punishing, and, in this film’s case, weaponized to brutal effect.

The film is at its best when it fully commits to that idea: the dancers turning their bodies—and whatever sharp or heavy object is within reach—into instruments of chaos. There’s a deliriously over-the-top climax where the troupe battles a swarm of goons in synchronized formation, set to music from The Nutcracker. It’s ridiculous, undeniably, but also wildly entertaining. Had the film leaned harder into that heightened, campy energy from start to finish, it might have landed as a gleefully unhinged action romp.

Instead, two major issues hold it back. The first is narrative inertia. A simple premise isn’t the problem—it’s the lack of urgency and clarity in how the story unfolds. As the girls attempt to escape the inn, the film loses focus, diverting too much attention to its underdeveloped antagonists, from gang leader Pasha to the enigmatic Devora. A late-emerging subplot involving Devora’s past and her tangled ties to Pasha’s powerful father only muddies the waters further, adding layers that feel more convoluted than compelling.

The second, and more damaging flaw, is tonal inconsistency. The film seems torn between two identities: one, a slick, empowering, tongue-in-cheek actioner about young women using resilience and ingenuity to survive; the other, a grimy, hard-edged crime thriller in the vein of EuropaCorp titles like Taken and The Transporter. It never quite reconciles these competing impulses. Even the more interesting threads—like the potential thematic parallel between Devora and the younger dancers—are introduced but never meaningfully explored, leaving the film feeling like a missed opportunity hiding beneath flashes of inspired chaos.

Performance wise, Maddie Ziegler emerges as the standout, carrying much of the film through its action beats and effectively leading the troupe. Unfortunately, she’s also saddled with some of the script’s most clunky, cringe-inducing dialogue, and even her committed turn can’t always rise above it. Avantika brings a welcome dose of levity, milking humor from her perpetually dazed, half-high characterization, while Millicent Simmonds and Iris Apatow prove to be game participants, convincingly selling their transition into improvised fighters. Lana Condor, however, steals several moments with her sharp comedic instincts, giving her character an extra spark.

And then there’s Uma Thurman, who leans into the film’s heightened tone with a knowingly hammy performance—though one can’t help but wish she pushed it just a little further into full-blown, scenery-chewing camp, especially as she reconnects with her ballet roots in the finale. Lydia Leonard, on the other hand, is given too little to do to leave any lasting impression. On the whole, ‘Pretty Lethal’ is a forgettable action thriller that despite flashes of fun and a campy premise ripe with potential, ultimately falters by never fully committing to the tone it so clearly flirts with.