Colombiana

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

First of all this is NOT a movie about Colombia. The producers may have failed on representing it but this is not the POINT of this movie. It's an action movie about a girl from Colombia and that's pretty much it regarding Colombia. Don't get all frustrated with it. Here's my quick review:

1 - Trailer: I wanted to see this movie mostly based on the trailer which I found catchy. Action and sexy Zoe Saldana sells it all. Still I went on a cheap night because I wasn't convinced this would be worth the full price entry. What you see in the trailer is what you get. A lot of action left to be seen and overall it's a good intro to the movie.

2 - Cast & Characters: Ahhh Zoe Zoe! It's hard to watch her rather than just stare at her. She delivers a pretty solid performance in this movie. She goes all around sneaking up the bad guys and taking them out in creative and yet plausible ways unlike Angelina Jolie in Salt (2010) where her 100 pounds character takes out multiple 250 pounds guys in fist fights. The supporting characters are your "typical" Mexican (Colombian in this story!) guys that pretty much do nothing other than holding guns outside a villa and sipping on drink and cigars. Generic police guys fill the rest of the cast but I found Callum Blue quite enjoyable to watch.

3 - Plot & Story: I think the story is so generic that the little twists added to the script makes them even more surprising. You always feel like you know the next move but most of the time something unexpected happens. Unfortunately, the script as a whole is a bit sloppy and poorly paced. I didn't get bored at all in this movie and though the intrigue isn't much catchy, it was enough to keep me interested. There are many laughable moments (mostly intended) which is fun but the drama is really cheesy.

4 - Theme & Genre: As an action flick, this one stands right. It isn't a melting pot of car crashes and explosions out of nowhere. There is plenty of action and a good mix between Hollywood fireworks and realistic fights. The camera angles and editing sometimes get confusing but in some scenes they really add something cool to watch.

5 - Overall Appreciation: Alright let's face the obvious. There is no Oscars material here. This will get MTV Teen Choice Awards at best. It's a cheap night movie that is entertaining to watch and where you should not expect a classic in cinema. Did I appreciate it? Yes! Is it good? Not bad. I give it 6 out of 10 for Zoe Saldana, good fight scenes and cinematography. Too bad the supporting characters, cheesy drama and poor script kills it a bit.

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.

I am giving this an 8, although it might be a 7, about the only bad thing I can say about the movie is that, yes, the plot is somewhat of a rehashed, predictable type of thing. However, Saldana is both sexy and charming and dangerous from the moment she shows up drunk in a tight dress. Yes you have to suspend disbelief a little bit to believe a gal who can't weigh over 95 pounds soaking wet can fight big strong guys, but good movies make you suspend disbelief, and this is a good movie.

Why is it good, because, unlike many action movies these days, they do take a few minutes to establish the main character as a person, so you care what happens to her, and also care if she achieves her goals.

I just watched it again on regular TV after renting it shortly after it came out, still and enjoyable flick, you have to like action/revenge flicks, but if you do this one fits the bill nicely.

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.