First Hit: Zoe is beautifully lithe and athletic, but I’m not sure this form was the best vehicle.
Zoe Saldana was the best character in the film Avatar; sublime in every way. In Colombiana she plays another physical character and she is great at it.
The problem with this film is the subject. It starts in Columbia when a young 10 year old Cat (Amandla Stenberg) watches the death of her father and mother. They were killed because her father who was an assassin for a Columbian drug lord and decided he wanted to retire.
After her parents are killed, she is questioned about something her father might have left behind, she stabs the interrogator in the hand and bolts out the window. The foot chase in these opening scenes sets up Cat's character as an adult.
Older Cat (played by Saldana) is now an assassin for her uncle who sets her up with the people she kills. She leaves a calling card which assists the FBI into finding her, but she’s good and has been baiting the FBI to publicize her calling card so that the Columbian a drug lord will try to come find her to kill her. She gets her wish.
Unfortunately as the film unfolds towards its obligatory ending I realize how preposterous the assassinations are. First there were too many killings unrelated to the point of the film, and these scenes were create just to show the audience that Cat is fully capable of getting into any place and completing her assignment.
The saving grace of this film is watching her move.
Saldana is fun to watch and therefore I enjoyed what she did. The story line wasn’t the best so from an acting point of view this was a good physical role for her. Stenberg was fantastic as young Cat She showed great athleticism and determination when running away from her father’s assassins. Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen wrote the screenplay which was, to me, just obviously grouped setups for for the final scene. Oliver Megaton directed this film and from an action point of view it was well done, from a storyline point of view is suffered.
Overall: It was entertaining and well worth a look on pay per view or on DVD.