The Netflix Sexy Thriller Is An Explosive Guilty Pleasure
“Walk softly and carry a big stick” somewhat applies to Zoe Saldana’s character in Colombiana, except that she walks in beauty and carries a bazooka. 2011’s Colombiana, a Netflix action thriller co-written by Luc Besson, is a movie about a woman hellbent on vengeance against those who killed her family, and it’s an absolute guilty pleasure of a movie.
Colombiana is based on the script for Mathilda, which Luc Besson originally wrote as a sequel to the legendary 1994’s Leon: The Professional…
The story of Colombiana starts in 1992, when a drug baron sends his henchmen to kill his associate, whose daughter survives the attack on her family, escapes from Colombia to the US, and locates her uncle, pleading with him to train her as an assassin. Fast-forward fifteen years, and Cataleya—portrayed by Zoe Saldana—is already an accomplished assassin who gets targeted by the FBI while working through her contracts, resulting in her being targeted by both the Federal Bureau and the same drug lord that ordered her family killed.
A Colombiana sequel was talked about for years, but is stuck in production limbo.
Colombiana is based on the script for Mathilda, which Luc Besson originally wrote as a sequel to the legendary 1994’s Leon: The Professional, starring Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, and Natalie Portman. However, after a disagreement with the Gaumont Film Company over Mathilda and its creative direction, Besson and Olivier Megaton reworked the script into a standalone release, which later became Columbiana—which was actually directed by Olivier Megaton.
Sadly, the movie didn’t fare so well among the critics, with a mere 27 percent rating on the Tomatometer. Most of the criticism was directed at the film’s formulaic plot and the lack of depth in character development. The latter is true, though; Marvel star Zoe Saldana didn’t really get much chance to emote, but her action skills blossomed, and her acrobatic performances made the already stale premise of Colombiana watchable.
…despite all the criticism and controversy, Colombiana was a moderate success.
Of course, other actors did their parts; Amandla Stenberg did a fantastic job performing young Cataleya, Jordi Molla made good work of portraying the villainous Marco—the actor, artist, writer, and filmmaker really has a knack for playing bad guys—and Lennie James, who portrayed the FBI Special Agent tasked with investigating Cataleya’s killings. However, despite great performances by the rest of the cast, Colombiana’s action sequences, Zoe Saldana’s performances, and deadpan humor are the only true highlights of the movie—the rest, not so much.
Colombiana wasn’t without its controversies either, and none of those were associated with the fact that Saldana’s character goes on a killing spree in shorts and a crop top. The controversies are related to the negative portrayal of Colombia, which many argued points towards a total lack of creativity in Hollywood—despite the fact that a Hollywood studio didn’t make the movie.
In the end, despite all the criticism and controversy, Colombiana was a moderate success. The movie managed to recuperate its production budget of $40 million and make an additional $23.9 million in profits, totaling $63.9 million at the worldwide box office. In 2015, CineEurope announced the development of Colombiana 2, with Saldana stating that she wouldn’t mind reprising her role, but as of 2019, we haven’t heard a single word regarding the project. Those interested in watching Colombiana can stream the movie on Netflix.
