Bang Bang Betty

I had such a great time with this movie! My girlfriend and I watched it together and both thought it was pretty awesome. A really great crime/drama/action movie. It felt raw and real at times. But big and cool, like a Tarantino movie at other spots. The action was really well choreographed. I don't know if there were professional stunt people involved with this movie, but either way, the actors totally sold the action and made it all seem real. The lead character was cool and kick-ass. Few things are as much fun as watching a badass woman kick ass against the bad guys. I enjoyed the film from beginning to end!

At its best, this is like a low-budget Kill Bill. It has solid action and welcome touches of humor. The standout in the cast is Kakra Nunoo-Brown as the title character. She's strikingly beautiful but also warm and approachable - that is unless you get on her wrong side as her enemies soon discover. I wouldn't be surprised if her career took off and she became a household name.

Gerald Parrish is also good as her mentor/father figure Ray - though their bonding and subsequent training sequence is a bit rushed. Still, I enjoyed their playful banter.

Emily Rose Hernandez is the other cast standout, both tough and beautiful, though with a vulnerability that wins the audience over.

Good Tubi popcorn flick.

It's Kakra Nunoo-Brown and Emily Rose Hernandez versus Marc Anthony Wazer and Daniel Moen in action-drama "Bang Bang Betty" a well put together, modern, exploitation feature film with a host of supporting characters - most notably Gerald Parrish as a father and big-brother figure.

Directed by Alexander T. Hwang and DP is Adam Beck; the other notable crew lead in this is the stunt coordinator Gary Choi (and yes you do see him die) and Rising Star Stunt Team (yes many of them die) on camera.

The film takes visual advantage of the exterior locations in New Mexico and Mexico, and even the interior scenes have attention to detail in their set-up.

High quality looks and editing, this is a modern version of an exploitation movie where the story takes on consideration of men and women.

The script is by Deanna Gomez with the story by Gomez and Hwang.

The story has a few coincidences... but sometimes in a smaller town or small city everybody does end up knowing everybody.

With a lower budget (no car chases, but people in a hurry from time to time in their cars), sometimes moving or fast healing wounds are a distraction, but overall worth watching from beginning to end to see who will win and why.

Some of the best performances, lines and background information are in the second half of the film - the mysterious, suspense elements of who has loyalty to whom - and what their true motivations are enough to make it worth watching to the end.

With a large cast, each of the main characters and even some of the tertiary characters have their moments in further setting the scene and situation.

For me the violence was the reason for the 18 plus rating, but others may notice some of the language nearly as much. If they had a 24 plus rating for violence, I might even go that far. Trigger warning for PTSD from military service or gun violence victims.

"Bang Bang Betty" kicks off with the introduction of Kiara, a veteran known as Bang Bang Betty from her combat days. Now working as a lawyer with a desire to atone for her past, her life takes a dark turn when her informant is murdered, and she narrowly survives a brutal attack. With no alternative, Kiara taps into the combat skills she honed during her military service to confront a notorious crime boss. Director Alexander T. Hwang delivers action-packed sequences tightly and beautifully edited . The lead performances by Kakra Nunoo-Brown as Kiara and Emily Rose Hernandez as Valerie are backed by a stellar supporting cast, including Marc Anthony Wazer as Darnell and Daniel Moen as Mathew, who injects humor into the narrative. The well-choreographed fight scenes and action sequences are executed at a professional level, making Valerie's character a true standout and eliciting cheers from the viewers.

This is a story of justice and vengeance done in a fun style. The movie starts sexy, adds some action, which leads to a big shoot out, showdown in a desert town. The direction is solid, the cinematography beautiful, and if the pacing slows down a bit towards the third act, the action ramps up again for the final shoot out. The performances are good, some a little underplayed to let the drama push the story along (this is a revenge story after all) but Emily Rose Hernandez lead performance holds the story together. There are some standout supporting performances including Kevin Caliber bringing the macho energy to his role and, especially, Mariah Padilla as one tough bad b**** whom I would have loved to have seen more of in the movie. This is a popcorn movie that is fun and melodramatic in the right amounts.