What started as a simple Keanu Reeves action film about a man who lost a dog and exacted revenge morphed into a huge franchise. We’ve gotten four features built around the hitman John Wick and now we’re getting an expansion to the world. But it is worth checking out?

This latest film isn’t free from Wick, or Reeves, who appears in two key sequences. But this comes from a new writer—Shay Hatten—and a new director—Len Wiseman—built around a new star, Eve played by Ana de Armas. But that’s about all that’s new in this summer action spectacle.

The film introduces us to Eve as a child. A nefarious group led by The Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne) comes for Eve and her father. While her father is killed in the fighting, Eve manages to survive and escape. She’s rescued by Winston (Ian McShane) who brings her to The Director (Angelica Huston). There, she’s given the choice. She chooses to enter the company.

Flash-forward 12 years later, and Eve is a promising recruit. She has talent, tenacity, and a viciousness that helps her thrive. It isn’t long before she is given her first assignment, which turns out to be a success. Soon, she’s pulling jobs and working full time.

When she’s on a job and comes across the organization that killed her father, it opens old wounds. Despite being warned by the director to stay away, Eve follows the leads. She soon comes face-to-face with her old enemy, threatening to set off a civil war in the process.

I remember when The Mandalorian was a huge success for Disney+. They soon looked for ways to expand the world, leading to The Book of Boba Fett. But it didn’t quite work, and about halfway through the original star characters returned to pick up the action. I thought about that quite a bit watching Ballerina. It’s from the world of John Wick, it shares a style with John Wick, and in the end, it needed a dose of John Wick to help the Third Act work. Or at least work as well as it did.

There’s plenty of action here. There are also some stylish set pieces in a club at one point and in a snowy, remote village near the end. All that provides some visual flourishes that keep you engaged at times.

As the lead, de Armas is fine in the role. She’s not as dynamic as Reeves, nor is the character and story as interesting as most of the Wick films. In fact, the appearance of Wick in the Third Act was among the most interesting things in the final set piece, which was mostly a set of random violent sequences and predictable revelations.

If you’re a fan of the larger John Wick world, this will be a welcome addition to summer. It’s not as good as any of those four films, but it follows a similar formula. Still, it’s hard to see the need to keep expanding this world if this is all we’re going to get.

Ballerina is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.