Colombiana (2011) Review:

There are so many ways that the story of Colombiana is used that it could made to look like it originated from a graphic novel. The character of Cataleya (Zoë Saldana) is a tragic hero like many other comic book characters. Something was taken away and now it's time to set things right. The action was the best part of the movie. My only issue resides in some of the key events that happened during the running time.

Saldana being a cold-blooded killer

The beginning of Colombiana starts off with young Cataleya witnessing the murder of her parents, But before this even happens, she is instructed by her father to remember some specific directions, and it wasn't a small amount of information either. So was Cataleya trained for when this day came or does she have one heck of memory because I know, that a kid that age would be in such shock that it would be hard to remember anything after watching your parents die. But I got to say young Cataleya is quick on her feet; that's for sure.

But this is only one of several more times that this story tries to fool its audience into believing that this child is the next best vigilante. After young Cataleya escaped the bad guys by fitting into a sewer drain, she then surfaces from a manhole cover in the middle of a street, not to mention, she was right at the spot she needed to be to continue her journey to America. Wait what? First, how on earth did an eight year old child even lift that manhole cover let alone move it?! Seriously, maybe I could see a muscular individual but that? No way.

Curtis as Cataleya's mentor

And then there's the issue of being in the middle of town. There were cars passing by when this happened and no one bothered to even figure out what was going on? What was a child doing in the sewer? Is this a daily thing? I'm not even going to go into the fact that she was right in front of the destination she had to go to next. That's just plain ridiculous. Once Cataleya lands in America, she meets up with a relative named Emilio played by Cliff Curtis. I like Curtis' character because he was willing to help Cataleya get revenge on the people who murdered her parents.

The thing I didn't get was when Emilio was trying to make Cataleya understand that to become a killer she needed an education. And he proved this to her by publicly firing several rounds in a local neighborhood and causing some minor damage. Plus, there were other witnesses around when this happened but when the police showed up to figure out what happened, the two had left already. Huh? You mean to tell me know one saw a casual looking fellow walking around with a gun? How oblivious is everyone in this film? Its flaws like these that can confuse and frustrate viewers.

There was another part of the film where older Cataleya was trying to escape the FBI in her apartment and she ended up pulling a machine gun out from a ceiling tile that wasn't even in her room or floor. How did she get into that room in the first place? But in place of all these imperfections, I did enjoy how the action scenes were executed. There was lots of gunfire and stealth. So that's always a plus. Thankfully there was more of that than the flaws I previously mentioned.

In a sense, Zoë Saldana's character could be another comic adaptation but what leaves it slightly crippled are the inconsistencies that are inside the plot. Besides that, the action is fairly good.

Points Earned --> 7:10