It goes without saying that action movies are one of my favourite genres. From films ranging from The Raid all the way down to The Shadow Stray. Seeing people break each other’s bones and spill blood ignites something in my soul that provides me with enough to satiate my entertainment needs.
87 North, the producers of Pretty Lethal, have produced some fantastic films, which I’m quite fond of, such as Bullet Train, Nobody, and The Fall Guy, for a few examples. But have also produced some mediocre action flicks, such as Kate and the recent 2025 release, Love Hurts. It’s unfortunate to say, but Pretty Lethal now joins that small list of action movies that 87 North has produced that aren’t to the best of standards.
Pretty Lethal has a stacked cast that will easily attract a lot of people to watch. With it starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Avantika, Millicent Simmonds, Iris Apatow, and the iconic, legendary Uma Thurman. You at least expect an action movie that’s worth your while, but instead are left with a movie that makes you scratch your head on why it was even conceived in the first place.
For that, I’ve got the simple answer. Its premise easily sells as a film that would kick total ass. Pretty Lethal follows a ballet troupe who go on a trip to Hungary to participate in a prestigious tournament, but are forced to take shelter in an inn when their bus breaks down. After witnessing a murder, they’re left with the only training they know to defend themselves against a gang of armed men who threaten to kill them. Now, how do you fail with a synopsis like this? Poor execution.
Pretty Lethal is one of those films where the synopsis sounds a million times better than the actual movie you end up watching, and makes you feel like you’ve accidentally watched the wrong film. It’s safe to say a certain celebrity wouldn’t be too fond of this movie, and unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to blame them despite our differing opinions on the dance form.
The ballerinas who find themselves seeking shelter at an inn en route to Budapest all feel like they’re in different movies at times. Bones (Maddie Ziegler) is the standout from the group, taking up most of the screen time with her action scenes and leading the charge with this troupe.
Grace (Avantika) is a laugh with the right actress playing her and spending half the movie high, but altogether it works. Chloe (Millicent Simmonds) is crazy for boys, which leads her down bad paths, and she finds herself dependent on her protective sister, Zoe (Iris Apatow). While Bones is the standout character, Princess (Lana Condor) is the most memorable character; she’s spoiled, wants to take Bones’ solo, and feels like she constantly doesn’t want to be there. If you told me that Princess walked in from another film and got lost, I’d totally believe you.
They find themselves in a little incident and trapped in their shelter when they anger Pasha (Tamás Szabó Sipos), an Eastern European mobster who relies on his daddy. With the help of Devora (Uma Thurman), who owns the inn and was once a ballerina herself (I promise, this fact doesn’t even have any meaning by the end of the film), the ballet troupe has nowhere to run.
Despite what that one celebrity might say surrounding ballet, it’s a dancing technique that takes a lot of strength and discipline, and deep down it can be brutal. The one thing that director Vicky Jewson does well is that she highlights the troupe’s strength, and that helps later on with certain scenes, but for most of the duration of this film, it’s almost like they forget that there are other characters that exist aside from Bones and Princess.
It’s disheartening to see that Uma Thurman, who is widely known for her role as The Bride in Kill Bill, has resorted to action movies such as this. In the span of a year, she’s taken on Netflix’s The Old Guard 2 and now Pretty Lethal, two movies that fail to remember where she originally came from.
Her character, Devona, who has an icy personality and thick European accent, is the least lethal character in the film despite being built up to be this scary big boss figure. She’s extremely underutilized, and if the movie were maybe 10-20 minutes longer, it would’ve had the time to not only flesh out her character more but also some of the other members of the troupe.
There’s one sequence in Pretty Lethal that’s the best thing to come out of it, and it’s when the ballet troupe gets together in the third act in unison under Bones’ order and uses what they’ve learned to take down a ton of men who undermine these young women. Flashy moves are used, as we see their dance routine as part of their fighting technique. Taking the men out with fouetté turns and using the set around them to their advantage.
If I were a producer and was shown this scene, I’d also greenlight it and give it all my money, but maybe that’s why I’m not a producer.
Pretty Lethal manages to be only 88 minutes, and the time rushes by like you’re watching a short film. The most frustrating thing about this movie is that it ends on a fantastical scene that’s quite stunning to watch. I only wish they put more of that effort into the film. It lacks a strong, compelling storyline, and I believe that’s truly what enables Pretty Lethal to be this generic, forgettable movie that you’ve seen a million times before.
The one thing that Pretty Lethal succeeds in is that it manages to make an action movie that involves a ballerina, or ballerinas, and doesn’t simply title the movie Ballerina. It deserves some praise for changing its name from Ballerina Overdrive to Pretty Lethal despite the title still being misleading.
