On March 13, director Vicky Jewson said at the Q+A at the world premiere of her film Pretty Lethal that more action films needed to be told through the female lens. I could not agree more with this sentiment and have to commend her commitment to impressive action filmmaking. Following five ballerinas (Maddie Ziegler, Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, and Avantika) who are forced to fight for their lives in an inn run by the Hungarian mafia, Pretty Lethal feels like a film ripped right from the John Wick universe. Naturally, a creative action film like this, starring a young female ensemble, sold me immediately, and I was excited to see what it would bring to the table.
Unfortunately, I was left disappointed. Pretty Lethal, complemented by action superstar Uma Thurman, has the potential to explore so many interesting ideas between its characters before the bloodshed. Instead, it meanders and subsequently rushes itself to get to the nitty-gritty. An action film should give at least some breathing room to settle into the characters before the punches start flying, but Kate Freund’s script messily introduces characters too late and fails to flesh them out beyond surface-level archetypes. There’s no significant emotional connection to them. I was most disappointed with this with regard to Avantika’s character, whom I was excited to see take on an action film.
Despite the rushed script, I was pleasantly surprised by Ziegler as Bonnie/Bones, the unlikely leader who brings the group together despite feeling like she doesn’t fit in. Her background as a professional dancer significantly boosted her role and made her ferocity feel even more believable. Having seen the trials ballerinas go through while maintaining grace and poise during performances, that sense of realism was important to the film. While at points it beats the audience over the head with this, I was happy to see this nuance depicted in a film starring women.
Jewson’s direction is one of the film’s strengths, allowing for fun moments between characters and fostering camaraderie among the girls. Foiling these girls is Thurman as Devora, a former dancer who resents the girls for having what she never could. As happy as I was with Thurman’s performance, she was severely underutilized and felt like a selling point more than an actual character. She depicts a nuanced love/hate relationship with the girls, and even though she ultimately does nothing to help them escape, it was a nice way to pass the torch to a new generation of young actresses.
Pretty Lethal is a forgettable, run-of-the-mill action movie that will come and go upon its March 25 release on Amazon Prime. Despite an impressive up-and-coming cast, a compelling premise, and plenty of bloodshed, its surface-level script fails to tread any significant new ground in female-led action movies. I am nevertheless excited to see what Jewson cooks up next in the action genre, because her direction shows incredible promise in a genre largely dominated by men.
Review Courtesy of Nadia Arain
Feature Image Credit to Amazon MGM