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, Michael Vartan, Callum Blue

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zoe Saldana	...	Cataleya
Jordi Mollà	...	Marco
Lennie James	...	Ross
Amandla Stenberg	...	Cat - 10
Michael Vartan	...	Danny Delanay
Cliff Curtis	...	Emilio Restrepo
Beto Benites	...	Don Luis
Jesse Borrego	...	Fabio
Cynthia Addai-Robinson	...	Alicia
Ángel Garnica	...	Pepe (as Angel Garnica)
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:

female nudity | female in a shower | sex scene | braless | assassin | 

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Taglines:

Revenge 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 Official Facebook [France]

Country:

France

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 August 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Venganza despiadada

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

€1,526,291 (France), 31 July 2011, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,408,176, 28 August 2011, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$36,665,854

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$72,295,262

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, TF1 Films Production, Grive Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 112 min (Unrated Version)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Cataleya rams into the police car, it is in a place outside New Orleans called Fat City. The bar Uncle Larry's, was actually a real bar at the time but is no longer there. Also in the scene, briefly, you can see a sign for Circle K and a split second later you see Brother's; it's actually the same building. The gas station was under construction during filming and Brother's had bought the Circle K franchise.

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Goofs

Cataleya is shown reading a Xena comic book in what is supposed to be 1992. But Xena did not air until 1995, and the comic book didn't come out until 1996.

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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

Referenced in Nanoman: Fekalonia (2015)

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Soundtracks

Your Other Man Vox
Written by James and James
(p) & (c) The Extreme Music Library Ltd.
With courtesy of Extreme Music France

User Reviews

Frankly, I was a bit shocked.

There are times when Colombiana almost works, but that's not good enough.

The film stumbles in some ways that actually surprised me. For an action film, Colombiana is inexcusably lumbering. Its rhythm is all over the place, sometimes it's beautiful, sometimes it's broody, but most of the time it's just kinda boring.

I really like Zoe Saldana, even though her body is a better actress than she is. She moves like a ballerina and fights like an anorexic tiger, and she even achieves mild success in playing drunk comedicly (in a campy sort of way). It's too bad that most of the film demands little of what she's good at and more of something that requires an actor. Colombiana is burdened by too many scenes of poorly written, over-expository dialogue and false emotion.

In a way the vast bulk of the film becomes a build up for the climax. We know where we're going, but it's how we get there that is important, or so they say. I think if the pay off was better, it might've helped the movie a little as well, but no. the Climax feels rushed, and loud, and almost devoid of excitement.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Colombiana is one of those films where the hero gets from a to b using either coincidence or methods that are kept from the audience (which is frustrating). I love the fact that in one moment, Zoe has mere seconds to escape a garage turns to the air vent, and the bolts just happen to be loose enough to unscrew with her fingertips.

Columbiana left me with a feeling of shock. It's not a complete failure, but it doesn't end up delivering what it should have. It's almost a popcorn movie where the audience eats popcorn to stay awake. I can't say I recommend it.