There is an art form to world building. Too much and it's all exposition. Too little and your rules aren't clearly defined. Think of the great universes like Middle Earth, Westeros, A Galaxy Far Far Away, even *gulp* the Wizarding World. The rules, customs and traditions are revealed slowly through the first film and expanded upon in subsequent films. What's impressive is that the relatively small film that was the first John Wick introduced an entire world of underground assassins, killers and rules. That's what made the Keanu Reeves' revenge thriller so interesting, it's basic premise – retired assassin goes nuts when thugs kill his dog.

After four films tracking the ever insane life of Mr Wick as the world of killers and Continental hotels conspire against him, we get Ballerina. Set between John Wick: Chapter Three – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter Four, the film follows Eve Maccaro (Ana de Armas). The young Eve witnesses an X branded cult lead by Gabriel Byrne murder her father she enters the Ruska Roma academy, an elite academy of killer ballerinas lead by The Director (Anjelica Huston), and eventually sets out for revenge on Byrne.

For anyone who saw de Armas' scene stealing turn in Bond film No Time to Die will know that she can carry action off very well. She's perfectly equipped to take on the role of a damaged, emotionally fragile woman who can also take a beating and dish one out. The world of the film gives her ample opportunity to do the ass-kicking thing but never fully grapples with the emotional damage she is supposed to have.

The issue probably comes down to the choice of director. Len Wiseman, on paper, seems like a good choice – he has a history of women in action movies with the Underworld movies as well as franchise work like Die Hard 4.0 – but he doesn't have the style to mesh with the tightly choreographed world of Wick. It's clear that the film has been through re-shoots, and those overseen by franchise head Chad Stahelski bring in the style that the series is known for.

There is a murkiness to the storytelling, bringing John Wick into the third act feels like a desperate attempt to appeal to the fans of the series but never really makes any sense. Even so the third act is where the film really clicks into a mode that feels both fun and thrilling. It sees Eve fight her way through an entire town of cult killers to get to her target, using anything she can find to kill. It's filled with jet black humour, inventive kills and a ticking clock.

The issue is that the hour and a half beforehand feels like a mash up of two different visions, one a badly edited and slap-dashy told revenge story, the other a more fun entry into the canon that furthers the mythology of this underworld. It's a pity because there cards are on the table for a really good expansion of the mythos, if there's a sequel maybe a better case of vetting a director might go a long way but Ana de Armas carries the film shoulder high.

Ballerina is in cinemas from June 6th