Ballistic – Movie Review (3/5)

BALLISTIC is a revenge thriller starring Lena Headey as a very one-track-minded grieving mother, who makes many bad decisions. Despite this, you cannot help but feel for her. When her son dies in combat, she becomes obsessed with the origin of the killing bullet. Read our full Ballistic movie review here!

BALLISTIC is a thriller released in select theaters and On Demand. It’s a movie that will have you getting fairly annoyed with the main character, as she makes one terrible decision after another. However, trust me, she will also have people around her who tell her that she is not in the right.

Lena Headey stars as a mother who becomes overwhelmed with grief and desires revenge when her son dies in combat while overseas on tour. The only thing she can focus on is finding someone (almost anyone, as the story evolves) to blame for her son’s untimely death. It’s rough and intense to see this strong woman spiral, but also extremely efficient.

Continue reading our Ballistic movie review below. Find it in select theaters and on demand from April 17, 2026.

A misguided revenge mission

When Ballistic begins, we see Nance (Lena Headey) working at a factory that produces ammunition. We’ll also come to learn later that she doesn’t own a weapon herself, nor has she ever fired a gun. This will soon change, as her son, Jesse (Jordan Kronis), is killed while on tour in Afghanistan.

Before we get that far, we see Jesse getting married to his very pregnant girlfriend, Diana (Amybeth McNulty). We also know that Diana will move in with Nance, so she won’t be alone with the baby, which is due while he is away. We also become aware that Diana doesn’t have much help from her own family, so Nance is the person she relies on, while Jesse is away.

Once Nance gets word that Jesse has been killed, she loses all objectivity. All she wants is to figure out if he was killed by one of the bullets that she helped manufacture. Also, whether he was killed by friendly fire or the Taliban. Of course, it won’t make any difference, but she is hellbound on getting some kind of revenge.

Truly remarkable performances

Meanwhile, Diana is struggling with losing her husband and getting ever closer to becoming a mom. Only now, the one person she was expecting to help is suddenly on a revenge mission that seems impossible. And yes, you will want to grab Nance and shake her, to try and get her to realize that the way to honor her son’s life is to take care of his wife and child.

I have always liked Lena Headey (Gunpowder Milkshake, Game of Thrones, 300), and she never lets me down in terms of character portrayal. With her portrayal of Nance, she manages to breathe life into a character that you want to get angry at, while also forcing you to acknowledge that she is in the right to be angry.

Wanting revenge seems impossible, which is probably why you want her to look up and focus on what she can (and should) be doing. As the pregnant daughter-in-law of Nance, we see Amybeth McNulty (Robin’s girlfriend in Stranger Things), who delivers a very heartfelt portrayal. Diana cannot afford the “luxury” of revenge as she must be ready for the baby’s arrival.

Among the key supporting characters, some of whom are people that Nance wants to blame the death of her son on, we see equally powerful performances. These actors include Hamza Haq (With Love and a Major Organ), Amanda Brugel (Sweetness), Enrico Colantoni (The Dark Stranger), and the filmmaker himself, Chad Faust.

Watch Ballistic in Select Theaters or On Demand

Ballistic comes from writer-director Chad Faust (Girl), who also has a key supporting role in the movie. He plays the recruiter who ensures that the young Jesse ends up in the army. It’s a character with fairly little screentime but one very powerful monologue in the movie as he tries to convince Lena Headey’s character that he believes in his job.

This is not a simple or easy movie. It’s character-driven, and you will most likely feel that Lena Headey’s Nance is making terrible decisions – because she is! That’s pretty much the entire point of this story and movie: Losing someone is terrible and can be impossible to understand, but you have to accept it and move on.

Especially when there are still people in your life who need you.

As a revenge thriller and drama, Ballistic is very well-rounded. It is perhaps a little too long, and it becomes excruciating seeing Nance spiral, but there is a point to this. I can acknowledge and recognize that while still feeling it would’ve been better if a little tighter in pace. Then again, maybe that’s just me. I certainly cannot deny that this movie had a tight grip on me!

BALLISTIC releases in select theaters and on demand on April 17, 2026.

Details

Director/Writer: Chad Faust
Cast: Lena Headey, Amybeth McNulty, Hamza Haq, Amanda Brugel, Enrico Colantoni, Jordan Kronis