Colombiana

I can understand why Colombiana is getting some tough reviews. It doesn't feature Colombian actors, it wasn't really filmed in Columbia, and this type of movie has been done so many times before. Kill Bill(2003-2004), Enough(2002), The Brave One(2007), I Spit on Your Grave(1978), Coffy(1973. The list goes on and on. Women seeking revenge for something.

However, I will say Colombiana was FAR better than I thought. I was expecting a predictable, loud, cat and mouse action movie with a lot of explosions and guns. It does have a lot of explosions and guns, but it was not as predictable as I thought and the acting wasn't outstanding but definitely good enough. Zoe Saldana carries the movie with ease and adds a lot to a script with average character development and plot.

Colombiana is a good action flick with a great leading actress and decent supporting characters. It's not something I would have on my top 10 list at the end of the year but think about it, I took 6-7 minutes to do a review on it which I only do if the movie was memorable and it was.

Colombiana: acting:B, plot:B-, dialogue:C+

If you have seen the trailer then you pretty much know what's coming. I personally thought it was a pretty good flick and the action throughout the movie definitely keeps your interest.

My only thought was that they should have gone ahead and pushed it to an "R" rated movie. With all the action and shooting, I believe there was almost little to no blood. I know the issue with too much violence and maybe they were trying to get a younger audience the ability to see this movie but it was lacking the "pop" factor by whitewashing too many scenes. Zoe Saldana did a superb job in this movie and I only wish that some of the supporting cast could have been on the same level that she is on.

IMHO

If you watch Movies like this you want a lot of Cool Action, stylish presentation, and an energy driven scenario that is a Comic Book like other place. This one has all that. Not very intelligent or plausible or much to think about, just a visceral ride for a mind-numbing couple of hours.

This is a slick and entertaining Girl With Guns romp, a favorite Character from Writer Luc Besson. His Films have a wide appeal and have varying degrees of success both as Art and as Entertainment. His best work is miles above his contemporaries and his worst is better than average.

This one falls in between. It is Artistic and will please Fans of the Genre, but does not rate as near his best. It is above average in its frantic display of rampaging revenge and glossy fights that are appealing as flights of fancy. Not much here is believable in any real sense, but that is the attraction of Comic Books. Luc Besson owes much to that format and Artform. He is a Writer/Director who pays his debts.

Nothing fantastic, but a decent action movie. Giving it 1 star is absolutely ridiculous. Very few movies deserve 1 (same goes for 10), yet here on IMDB it's wildly overused. If you can't see the difference in quality between an Ed Wood movie and Colombiana (production, story, acting etc.), you really shouldn't rate movies. Most likely you just enjoy shitting on things, which seems quite popular these days. A mediocre movie deserves 4-6 stars, not bloody 1, and if you watch enough movies you should at least learn to see the difference between shitty and mediocre. Colombiana is not great, but kept my interest up and it's clearly better than a shitload of other action movies. I rate it somewhere between 6 and 7, but round up because of all the idiotic 1's.

The latest work from Europacorp didn't disappoint me. I love Luc Besson's mad action flicks and this was no different. Zoe Saldana is class as the sexy killer ready to do anything to get revenge on the criminals who murdered her family. It's territory we've seen over and over but I enjoyed it. The films action, when it comes, is thrilling. There are some inventive kills and a good little straightner at the end involving toothbrushes (believe it or not). Saldana will probably come a long way after this in terms of action roles and it's nice to see an actress who can act as well as kick ass. Lennie James is a bit on the didgy side with an accent that sometimes sounds like a drunken person at an Indian restaurant doing a bad impression of the waiter. He's a still a good actor all the same. I hope they continue to make these sorts of action films where I can just switch of and enjoy them because as long as they make them, I'll watch them. ***/*****.