From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (in theaters)

There’s a better movie lost in the middle of “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina.”

The full title is a sign of that, an ungainly thing that loses its own identity in ties to a different franchise. The movie itself has the same problem, too caught up in checking off familiar boxes to play to its own potential strengths. Doing so would have actually made it fit in better with the “John Wick” universe, deepening it thematically and shining a different light on the originals. Instead, it ignores every possibility even as it creates it, leaving us with a smorgasbord of violence that isn’t nearly as interesting as it could have been.

Set in between the third and fourth “John Wick” movies, “Ballerina” follows a young woman taken in by one of the assassin families after her father’s murder. She grows up wanting to take vengeance against her father’s killers, but can’t because it’s against the rules. In a decision that will surprise no one familiar with the “John Wick” movies, she does it anyway.

Fans of the “John Wick” movies will appreciate the level of violence, along with the occasionally creative use of fire and explosives. Unfortunately, it’s not as well choreographed as it is in the original movies, making the moments blur together in a way that’s ultimately unsatisfying. Ana de Armas is tough enough to handle it, but the movie never gives her the chance.

More frustrating is the thematic potential the movie keeps ignoring. “Ballerina” comes close to making three or four really interesting, powerful points about the whole system, but the script deliberately avoids following through on any of them. A moment between Armas and Keanu Reeves’ Wick comes the closest, but even that doesn’t pay off nearly as much as it could have.

If only we’d gotten the better version of the movie.

Grade: Two stars

The Phoenician Scheme (in theaters)

If you like Wes Anderson, you’re going to like “The Phoenician Scheme.”

Still, it’s far from the director’s best work. Though it has the director’s signature touch, it doesn’t have the emotion of “The Royal Tenenbaums” or the intellectual intricacy of “Asteroid City.” The plot is both too simple and too complex, mostly consisting of brief guest appearances and financial machinations even the characters don’t care about. There are charms here for Anderson fans, but there could be so much more.

The movie starts with Benicio del Toro, a business mogul who continually survives assassination attempts by his rivals. After the most recent one, he attempts to reconcile with his nun daughter (Mia Threapleton) by making her his heir. He then immediately takes her on his latest financial expedition, along with his assistant (Michael Cera).

Threapleton and Cera are two of the bright spots in the movie, offering performances that enliven everything around them. Threapleton brings a lot of depth to her character, despite her flat effect, and Cera proves that Wes Anderson movies were where he was always meant to be.

Hopefully, he’ll get another chance in a better example of the director’s work.

Grade: Two stars

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at [email protected].

Credit for photo ©Lionsgate