Without John Wick at the top of the marquee, the “World of Wick” suffers. Ana de Armas does her best to build a standalone action hero, but the tinkering behind the scenes on this spinoff demonstrates that even the producers lacked faith in her box-office prowess. The hint is right there in the title.

“From the World of John Wick: Ballerina” is a clumsily constructed attempt to breathe new life into a franchise that killed its hero in 2023. “John Wick: Chapter 4” is quite possibly one of the best action films ever made. Instead of quitting while they were ahead, the production companies behind the cash cow decided to milk the property for more returns.

To be fair, the depth of the Wick world offers many possibilities. The three-part mini-series, “The Continental: From the World of John W

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