PRETTY LETHAL movie poster | ©2026 Amazon/ MGM Studios

Rating: R
Stars: Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika, Maddie Ziegler, Uma Thurman, Lydia Leonard
Writer: Kate Freund
Director: Vicky Jewson
Distributor: Amazon/MGM Studios
Release Date: March 25, 2026 (Prime Video)

“These guys are drunk and out of shape. We are prima f*****g ballerinas.” This brief speech, delivered when the going gets tough, is perhaps all anyone really needs to know about PRETTY LETHAL. Additional relevant information is that director Vicky Jewson and writer Kate Freund (who also appears as a mob underling) figure out clever ways to incorporate classical dance moves into the violent action, and that the whole enterprise is improbable but fun.

The set-up is that a quintet of young American prima (f*****g) ballerinas and their ballet mistress, Miss Thorna (Lydia Leonard), are in Hungary, on their way to an international competition in Budapest. Then their tour bus breaks down in the middle of a forest.

With no guarantee that their transportation is going to be repaired any time soon, the contingent of dancers seek help on foot and find an isolated grand hotel. The establishment is owned by gang boss Devora Kasimer (Uma Thurman), a former ballerina herself, who keeps a museum of elaborate costumes.

Devora has to pay monthly tribute to rival gangster Lothar the Butcher, who as usual has sent his jerk of a son Yuri (Julian Krenn) to collect. Conflict arises, with our ballerinas caught in the middle. After being understandably horrified, at first, they rally and use their unique skills to survive.

Should anyone not realize it, ballet dancers are, among other things, extraordinary athletes, trained to perform through pain and injury. They also have extremely powerful legs that can hold them up en pointe or rock a bad guy’s head back with a kick, depending on what’s called for in the moment.

The filmmakers find a quasi-plausible way to get all five of the young women into their white tutus and toe shoes for the bulk of PRETTY LETHAL, which adds immeasurably to the execution of the premise. Fight coordinators Remi Bakkar and Teddy Masson, fight choreographer Yann Brouet, stunt coordinator Jacob Griffin, action/stunt designer Shahaub Roudbari and their teams all deserve applause for working ballet into the physical clashes.

Each of the dancer characters has enough quirks to make her distinctive, and the performers – Maddie Ziegler as rebellious Bones, Lana Condor as entitled Princess, Avantika as accidentally stoned Grace, Millicent Simmonds as inquisitive (and deaf) Zoe, and Iris Apatow as concerned Chloe – all shine. Thurman gives Devora’s world-weariness a wry touch and Krenn is a splendid scumbag. Leonard plays the sort of caring teacher anyone would love to have.

Director Jewson and cinematographer Bridger Nielson give PRETTY LETHAL a becoming, slightly fairytale look, with sparkles in dimmed interiors, that enhances the effect.

PRETTY LETHAL is indeed pretty. More importantly, it’s pretty entertaining, and admirably fulfills its potential.

Related: Movie  Review: READY OR NOT 2:  HERE I COME
Related: Movie  Review: TOUCH ME
Related: Movie  Review: TOW
Related: Movie  Review: DEAD LOVER
Related: Movie  Review: THE POUT-POUT FISH
Related: Movie  Review: UNDERTONE
Related: Movie  Review: UNDERTONE
Related: Movie Review: BANK OF DAVE: THE LOAN RANGER
Related: Movie  Review: SCARED TO DEATH
Related: Movie  Review: BODYCAM
Related: Movie  Review: “THE BRIDE!”
Related: Movie  Review: NFT: CURSED IMAGES
Related: Movie  Review: SCREAM 7
Related: Movie  Review: OPERATION TACO GARY’S
Related: Movie  Review: ANACORETA
Related: Movie  Review: THIS IS NOT A TEST
Related: Movie  Review: GHOST TRAIN
Related: Movie  Review: COLD STORAGE
Related: Movie  Review: THE HAUNTED FOREST
Related: Movie  Review: “WUTHERING HEIGHTS” 
Related: Movie  Review: THE MORTUARY ASSISTANT
Related: Movie  Review: THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3
Related: Movie  Review: PILLION
Related: Movie  Review: JIMPA
Related: Movie  Review: ISLANDS
Related: Movie  Review: WORLDBREAKER
Related: Movie  Review: MOTHER OF FLIES
Related: Movie  Review: 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE
Related: Movie  Review: NIGHT PATROL
Related: Movie  Review: THE CONFESSION (2026)
Related: Movie  Review: WE BURY THE DEAD
Related: Movie  Review: ANACONDA
Related: Movie  Review: AVATAR: FIRE AND  ICE
Related: Movie  Review: IS THIS THING ON?
Related: Movie  Review: MANOR OF DARKNESS
Related: Movie  Review: DUST BUNNY

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie  Review: PRETTY LETHAL

Related Posts: