Colombiana (2011)

A young woman, after witnessing her parents' murder as a child in Bogota, grows up to be a stone-cold assassin.

Director:

Olivier Megaton

Writers:

Luc Besson (screenplay), Robert Mark Kamen (screenplay)

Stars:

Zoe Saldana, Jordi Mollà, Michael Vartan

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zoe Saldana	...	Cataleya
Jordi Mollà	...	Marco
Lennie James	...	Special Agent James Ross
Amandla Stenberg	...	Cat - 10
Michael Vartan	...	Danny Delanay
Cliff Curtis	...	Emilio Restrepo
Beto Benites	...	Don Luis Sandoval
Jesse Borrego	...	Fabio Restrepo
Cynthia Addai-Robinson	...	Alicia
Angel Garnica	...	Pepe
Ofelia Medina	...	Mama
Callum Blue	...	Richard
Sam Douglas	...	William Woodgard
Graham McTavish	...	Head Marshall Warren
Charles Maquignon	...	Sergeant Bill Attwood

Storyline

A young woman grows up to be a stone-cold assassin after witnessing her parents' murder as a child in Bogota. She works for her uncle as a hitman by day, but her personal time is spent engaging in vigilante murders that she hopes will lead her to her ultimate target - the mobster responsible for her parents' death.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | assassin | uncle | death | necklace | 

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Taglines:

Vengeance is beautiful.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, intense sequences of action, sexuality and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [fr] Official site

Country:

France

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 August 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Colombiana: Em Busca de Vingança

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,408,176 (USA) (26 August 2011)

Gross:

$36,665,854 (USA) (28 October 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, TF1 Films Production, Grive Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 111 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The script was originally written as a sequel to Léon: The Professional and would have focused on Natalie Portman's character Mathilda. However when that movie did not come to fruition writer Luc Besson and director Olivier Megaton changed the story to that of a new character with a South American background.

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Goofs

Bogota is shown as a tropical city in the middle of the jungle. Bogota is in fact located at the top of a mountain and it tends to be cool and rainy. It is also a big modern city with skyscrapers.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Don Luis Sandoval: I can't believe this.
Fabio Restrepo: Why not?
Don Luis Sandoval: Because I love you, Fabio, like a son.
Fabio Restrepo: I love you, Don Luis, like a father.
Don Luis Sandoval: I'm going to miss you.
Fabio Restrepo: And I'm going to miss you.
Don Luis Sandoval: Okay. Enough of this sentimental bullshit. One last drink? Next we'll be crying like two old women. Come on! To the future.

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Connections

References Léon: The Professional (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Ave Maria"
Composed by 'Franz Schubert (I)'

User Reviews

This is not a bad movie if you take off your critics hat

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.