Amazon Prime brought the world premiere of Pretty Lethal, a new action film by director Vicky Jewson (Close, Born of War) and written by Kate Freund (Afterlife), to this year’s SXSW. A group of American ballerinas are on their way to Budapest for a special performance. A series of unfortunate events leaves them stranded in a remote Hungarian town where they will be forced to come together and fight for their lives.

Jewson and Freund have teamed up to create a female-centered action film. Pretty Lethal introduces five ballerinas from varied backgrounds, each with different and often strained relationships. Some of them even openly dislike each other. When they’re invited to perform together in Budapest, everything goes wrong. From diverted flights to lost luggage to a broken down bus, they find themselves stranded in a remote part of Hungary. They find refuge in a beautiful old inn, but this safe haven quickly turns deadly. The ballerinas are forced to overcome their differences and come together to survive the night against an array of unsavory characters. Pretty Lethal is great at showing the animosity and competition between young women, but also how extreme circumstances can bring those same young women together. It’s also great at highlighting just how strong and powerful ballerinas truly are, despite their delicate appearances. While for the most part this premise works, there are times when the film can be a bit silly. Sometimes this is evident in the dialogue between the girls and other times it’s in the insane situations they have to get out of. Yet the silliness is part of this film’s charm. It has all the action, laughs, suspense, and female camaraderie one could want from a ballerina action film.

Pretty Lethal has a great cast of some true professional dancers, up and coming faces, and fan favorite actors. Maddie Ziegler (The Fallout, Music) stars as Bones. Bones is the more tough, hardened ballerina from a poor background which automatically gives her a bit of a sharp edge with the other dancers. Ziegler is an undeniable force in this role. She gives a compelling performance, especially when faced with danger, and because she’s the only professional dancer of all the actors, she really gives the audience a show. Lana Condor (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Deadly Class) plays Princess. Living up to her name, Princess is the spoiled and entitled rich girl who wants to get everything her way. This is a very different role for Condor and she gives a hilarious performance, especially as she butts heads with Ziegler’s Bones. Avantika (Mean Girls, Tarot) plays the religious member of the dance group, Grace. Not only is Avantika great as the more conservative member of the group, leading to ridiculous conversations, but she also has a scene where she’s on drugs and delivers some truly laugh out loud moments. Audiences also get to see a fantastic performance from Uma Thurman (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction) as a Hungarian former ballerina and current gangster. Not only does Thurman give a nuanced, sometimes heartbreaking performance, she also pulls off a believable Hungarian accent. Rounding out the amazing cast of women are Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place) and Iris Apatow (This is 40) as sisters in the group of ballerinas.

One of the highlights of Pretty Lethal is definitely the visuals. This comes through in many forms. Right away audiences will fall in love with the Hungarian setting. The building the ballerinas find themselves trapped in is a large, ornate old building with a bar, dance floor, and stage on the main level, intricately decorated rooms and offices upstairs, and lower levels that consist of an industrial kitchen and dingy old basement. It gives the filmmakers a lot of room to play for different scenes while still being a primarily single-location film. What will really make audiences fall in love with Pretty Lethal is the dance/fight choreography. Sometimes it’s just dancing, sometimes it’s a unique blend of dancing and fighting, but these ballerinas prove they know how to kick some ass. They even find unique ways to use tools of their trade as weapons against their attackers. There are some great practical effects incorporated to create wounds during the fights, as well as a bit of CGI. The CGI is most apparent when Grace is tripping on drugs, leading to some very funny imagery. Yet there are also one or two instances when it appears one of the young actress’s faces was added to a dancer’s body through CGI during the more complex dance scenes, which can be distracting.

Pretty Lethal is a perfect blend of silliness and action, showcasing just how tough ballerinas really are. Jewson once again proves she’s skilled at creating action films that put women at the forefront and Freund crafted a script that perfectly shows the animosity and sisterhood between young women. The film does what Ballerina should have done, weaving the dancing into every fiber of the fight scenes and allowing Ziegler to really showcase her skills. She’s a powerhouse leading lady and the rest of the cast has a wonderful love-hate dynamic that feels authentic among the sometimes ridiculous dialogue and situations. While there are some moments that reveal the other actors aren’t professionally trained dancers, the editing and addition of the fight choreography helps to make these women believable as ballerinas. Be sure to see all the action-packed dance fighting exclusively on Amazon Prime beginning Wednesday, March 25th.

OVERALL RATING: 7.5/10