Pretty Lethal Movie Review: Ballet Meets Action

The idea of ballerinas as killers isn’t new. We’ve seen it in films like Black Swan, Red Sparrow, and even Ballerina. But Pretty Lethal takes a slightly different route. This isn’t a story about trained assassins with ballet backgrounds; it’s about actual dancers with no killing instincts, just a strong will to survive and the ability to use their skills in unexpected ways. Pretty Lethal was released to Prime on 25 March 2026

Starring Uma Thurman, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika Vandanapu, and Maddie Ziegler, the film is written by Kate Freund and directed by Vicky Jewson. Pretty Lethal is an almost comical action thriller, and I’ll tell you why.

Premise

A ballet troupe from Los Angeles, five dancers, travel to Budapest for a competition. They train together, but there’s clear tension among some of them. The trip ends up unfriendly too, as their bus breaks down in the middle of nowhere.

Trying to make it in time for registration the next day, their coach suggests they walk and find help. Soaked in the rain, they stumble upon the Teremok Inn, a place that clearly doubles as a hangout for criminal gangs. What looks like a lucky break quickly turns into chaos.

A gangster kills their coach after she fights off his advances, and the girls are locked up after naively asking the inn owner, Devora, to call the police. From there, everything spirals.

But these girls are underestimated. Using their flexibility, coordination, and dance skills, they manage to escape, and not just that, they fight back, taking down several attackers in the process.

Meanwhile, Devora has her own agenda. She’s been holding onto a long-standing vendetta against the gangster’s family and uses the chaos to set her revenge in motion.

Now, Bones, Princess, Grace, Zoe, and Chloe must band together—not just to survive, but somehow still make it to their competition.

Cast and Performances

A lot of the action relies on the dancers themselves, and it shows. Most of the cast have real dance backgrounds, and they trained hard to blend ballet with combat, which the filmmakers call “ballet-fu.”

Maddie Ziegler, who plays Bones, stands out. She starts as the underdog of the group but naturally steps into a leadership role. She brings energy, presence, and enough charisma to carry both the acting and the action. You can easily see her leading a future action film.

Uma Thurman as Devora is perfectly cast, especially considering her Kill Bill background. But honestly, her character feels underused. If you cast Uma Thurman, you expect her to go full badass—and the film doesn’t quite give her enough room to do that.

Other performances include Lana Condor as the rich, spoiled Princess, Avantika Vandanapu as Grace, the religious one, Iris Apatow as the panic-prone Zoe, and Millicent Simmonds as Chloe, whose hearing impairment adds an interesting dynamic to the group.

Overall, the performances are solid, but they needed more depth to fully elevate the tension and stakes.

Highlights

I liked the idea behind this film, using ballet as a survival tool. Watching these dancers turn their flexibility and discipline into something deadly was genuinely fun. The concept of “ballet-fu” is creative, and the film leans into it well.

Some of the kill scenes are brutal and remind me of the contained, high-stakes action style seen in places like The Continental Hotel.

Another highlight was the inclusion of a hearing-impaired character. Millicent Simmonds adds a unique layer to the action, making certain fight scenes have some flair.

Drawbacks

The story is very straightforward, almost too straightforward. It moves from start to finish without much depth, and while the 90-minute runtime keeps things tight, it also makes the plot feel shallow.

Some subplots are introduced but never fully explored or are just abandoned. For example, what happens to Devora’s son after Chloe spares him? Are the authorities not aware that a major crime syndicate was just taken down? And why wasn’t Devora given more to do? There’s also a character known as the exterminator, someone who erases victims’ identities, but clearly left one of his victims alive in the van when he came by the inn on Devora’s invite.

Another issue is the tone. The film struggles to decide what it wants to be. One moment it’s violent and intense, the next it leans into comedy, which breaks the immersion. You start to forget how serious things are supposed to be.

And then there’s the realism. These are not trained assassins, yet they take down armed criminals without serious harm to themselves. It feels like heavy plot armour. We’ve seen that level of action from characters like John Wick, not from dancers thrown into chaos.

Final Thoughts

Pretty Lethal tries to answer the question of how to spin a ballet action thriller, but it doesn’t quite get there. It’s an entertaining watch, with a fresh idea and some fun moments, but it doesn’t fully use the talent it has or dive deep enough into its story. Still, it’s worth watching—if only to see how far dance can take you when survival is on the line.

Side note: “Ballet-fu” is actually a very cool name.

Rating

3/5

Our Rating of This Movie

Have you ever tried to dance on your toes before? Ballet isn’t for the weak.

Author

Alexander Azonobo
Alex is a writer with an undeniable passion for movies and the stories they tell. He loves diving into the world of cinema—exploring its themes, characters, and the artistry that brings it all to life. With an eye for detail and a love for storytelling, he writes to share his thoughts and spark conversations about the films that move, challenge, and inspire us.