Miss Bala didn't have much of a bang

Jane the Virgin fans listen up! If you’ve been watching previews for movies recently then you know that Gina Rodriguez (also known as Jane Villanueva from Jane the Virgin) is the star of Miss Bala that just came out this Thursday. If you haven’t seen the previews then here’s the summary of what it’s about: Gloria Meyer, a young Latin-American travels down from Los Angeles to Tijuana, Mexico to help her friend win a beauty contest. However, when the two go to a nightclub a drug cartel starts a shoot-out to try to kill the head of police. Through all the chaos, Gloria’s friend goes missing and she is taken captive by the drug cartel.

As much as I was looking forward to this cinematic experience, I have to say this movie was sort of a letdown. Perhaps it was because I was working it up to be amazing based off the trailer or it was because I was excited that Gina Rodriguez would the main lead but the action was subpar at best. Gloria’s character growth was that of a typical one: soft-spoken, a doormat and then bam! A terrible life-changing event happens and suddenly she’s walking through the fire like the strongwilled feminist she is. Nevertheless, the change is too sudden and too close to the end of the movie that you can’t really relish in the person she grew to be in the past few days.

Also, it was predictable. Crime rates and drug cartels are extremely high in Mexico so when something bad happens and no one is stepping up to take the blame, you kind of get the sense that all crime is related in this movie. I know that movie trailers can lie about somethings but in the trailer, they use the quote “La Bala. The bullet. The bullet settles everything”. Not once was that quote used in the movie. And arguably it would have been the best line in the entire movie. If we’re talking about closure then I suppose that it was somewhat satisfying, it does manage to hand in hand with her sudden character growth so you don’t leave feeling unsatisfied.

To conclude: I would save your money. The movie trailer was very deceiving and it wasn’t as action packed as one would hope it would be. That compared with it being unpredictable pretty much sum it up to being a pretty forgettable film. However, if you’re a Gina Rodreguez fan then, by all means, go ahead and watch. Her acting was one of the positive aspects of the film and I wouldn’t blame her for her sudden character growth. If anything, I would chalk it up to the directors taste. Although, if you do find yourself in a bout of boredom I would say that this would temporarily cure it. I’m not saying the movie is terrible, just disappointing.