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

At the end of the film, before the credits roll, two people can be seen sitting on the bench in the background. However, after Cataleya hangs up the phone, a close up of the bench is shown, with only one person sitting on it. As the bus is departing, the two people are there again.

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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

I've seen this before, you've seen this before

Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) is a hired gun who embarks on a quest for revenge despite the wishes of her mentor and assistant (Cliff Curtis). This means taking down the CIA informant who had her parents murdered before her eyes.

I've seen this before, you've seen this before. One of the writers, Luc Besson, even wrote and directed the two movies Colombiana most closely resembles. There are some new tricks in store, and the strictly business attitude is refreshing. Director Olivier Megaton takes a tale as old as storytelling itself and gives it vibrant colors as well as reasonable plausibility.

Zoe Saldana is a good lead despite minimal lines. That's not a bad thing as smart screenplays take advantage of the on screen action instead of blatantly relaying the information to the audience through sound. When Cataleya works her way into a ventilation shaft she doesn't have a guy in van putting words in her ear. Furthermore, Saldana slender frame is built for the action depicted. Seldom did it seem that trickery was needed to accomplish a leap. Cataleya isn't shown to be a Jackie Chan kungu fu acrobat capable of literally kicking the hindquarters of an entire team of guards then flipping into hiding—she plays with guns.

There's plenty in the way of loud noises and mischief, but a major flaw is pointed out by Cataleya's boyfriend Danny (Michael Vartan). He begs Cataleya for information about herself at just about the same time as the audience. There's a giant gap of 15 years time between Cataleya's arrival in America and her present day activities. Without any on-screen training the jump in the character feels undeserved, as do her relationships. Cataleya is simply already with Danny. The guys she's after are hardly worth mentioning since all parties are isolated. She doesn't even come face-to-face with one of her top targets.

Colombiana plays out like Leon: The Professional had Natalie Portman's character grown into a cleaner herself and her backstory was unoriginal. This shouldn't be a surprise as both films are written by Luc Besson, nor should it be a shock that the earlier film is far better in large part due to tension and bonding. The amount of action that must take place off camera to maintain the PG-13 of this very tonally serious film is heartbreaking. How can an audience share in the delight of revenge when we must look away?