Columbiana is a welcome hit and it has audiences shouting for its sexy heroine. Zoe Saldana sizzles and shines as Cataleya, a beautiful assassin at the top of her game; and her game is revenge, gory, brutal, primal revenge. Cataleya embodies the chameleon skills of the Talented Mr. Ripley along with the irresistible lethality of Kill Bill's Beatrice. With her character demanding such an extreme level of physicality as well as the scale and savagery of the relentless action sequences, Saldana would deserve credit for rising to just the physical challenge; but it is the vulnerability and humanity she brings to the role that had audiences truly invested for the duration of this late summer surprise.Cataleya witnesses the horrific murder of her parents as a child in Bogota and devotes herself to becoming the instrument of her own revenge. As a woman Cataleya is supported by her mentor and uncle, Emilio (Cliff Curtis) and her grandmother. Years of searching for vengeance are finally beginning to pay off when a chink in our assassin's emotional armor is revealed in the handsome frame of Danny (Michael Vartan), her artist boyfriend. Soon Cataleya is being hunted not only by the Colombian cartel that killed her family but also by the US Marshals and the FBI. But as it turns out, chasing this femme-fatale might mean that she's got you right where she wants you.
With Colombiana, Director Olivier Megaton takes the unoriginal but universally entertaining theme of the vengeance quest and re-examines it, and he executes his vision well enough that audiences are treated to perhaps the best action film of the year. Luc Besson's (producer and writer on the project) kinetic flare can be seen throughout the heart pounding action sequences.
It's the rare action film that can be taken seriously, but this year Colombian joins the handful of those that audiences are taking very, very seriously indeed. I haven't heard audiences cheer like this since Xmen First Class. This weekend, do yourself and favor and watch Zoe Saldana in Colombiana.
