REVIEW: ‘Colombiana’ kills on screen
“Colombiana” is the story of Cataleya (Zoe Saldana), a girl who becomes a professional killer after witnessing her parents’ murder.
The movie hits fast and hard, and begins with the death of Cataleya’s parents and an exciting chase that could only have been dreamed up by French writer/producer Luc Besson who has a signature taste for “parkour,” a style of chase-on-foot scene characterized by outlandish acrobatics such as jumping from roof to roof or running up walls.
At a young age, Cataleya looks to “Xena: Warrior Princess” for inspiration in dealing with the challenges of living in Colombia, and the death of her parents. Through keeping a valued secret, Cataleya makes her way to Chicago, where she finds her uncle, grandmother and a place to live and thrive.
Through her persistence, and with the help of her uncle, Cataleya grows into an effective assassin with the power to exact revenge on her parents’ killers. Then, the adventure really begins.
Cataleya has grace and amazing intelligence as an assassin that is unseen in many of the male action characters such as Jason Bourne and James Bond. This gives a refreshing feeling to the action genre, and to the assassin sub-genre.
Aside from her intensity, Cataleya houses a fragile emotional vulnerability which becomes known when she can be herself away from her assignments. She is a character of dimension who can relate with movie viewers of all types.
Saldana — who has acted in Star Trek and Avatar — has once again proven her value as a deadly-action actress. She is a beautiful, skilled woman, perfect for the role of Cataleya. She should go far in her career as a talented woman who can handle different types of roles, which she demonstrates in “Colombiana.”
Amandla Stenberg, who plays the young Cataleya, does an excellent job at portraying a smart, agile, perceptive girl with a fierceness atypical of many young actors. She will play Rue in the upcoming film “The Hunger Games,” and I anticipate her career will be one similar to that of Saldana’s.
Cliff Curtis, known for his roles in “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Training Day,” plays Cataleya’s uncle who teaches and guides Cataleya through her training as she works toward her goal of becoming an assassin.
A tight-knit group of artists came together to create the fantastic action of “Colombiana:” Olivier Megaton, Besson, Robert Mark Kamen, and Nathaniel Mechaly.
Director Olivier Megaton captured the action in a way that puts the audience in the middle of the thrills. Megaton previously directed “Transporter 3,” and he used many of the same components of filming for both movies.
Besson, once again, adds another great movie to the action-assassin genre. Although he authored the story behind “Taken,” the “Transporter” movies, “La Femme Nikita” and “Leon the Professional,” he didn’t become redundant in “Colombiana.”
Kamen, who co-wrote the screenplay, has worked closely with Besson over the years on some of his box office hits and again helped to deliver a captivating film.
The score was composed by Mechaly, who previously composed the score for “Taken.” It fit well for the movie, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression with any memorable themes.
Cataleya’s as deadly as she is beautiful, as emotionally soft as she is fierce, and she makes “Colombiana” an exciting action movie, perfect for the beginning of a school year.
— Spencer Palmer is a graduate student working toward an MBA with a recent bachelors in mechanical engineering. He enjoys watching all sorts of movies. E-mail him at spencer.palmer@aggiemail.usu.edu.