Review of Miss Bala (2019) by Wheeelertron — 18 Feb 2021

In a bold attempt to do many modern things this film falls way-short, and in loosing touch with an important modern story becomes toxic, maybe it's totally appropriate for it to end with an apparently accepted offer of employment from the CIA.

..a strong central performance does hold everything together, just, but even that is not enough, Spanish-speaking characters in Mexican settings speaking American English might be easier to market in the US but it doesn't work narratively, and unsubtitled Spanish slipped in and around the main script at best is somewhat confusing and at worst feels like a bizarre and often in the context inappropriate language lesson, as do some attempts to show off on-location landmarks.

..two-dimensional characters and simplified scenarios clash with the main more sophisticated emotional story and become offensive, the severe loss of complexity becoming comical at times, this is not supposed to be funny, and in trying to turn Miss Bala into a teen-movie you subvert the whole story and end up glorifying the brutal violent and victim-filled tragic reality of drug-gang-warfare and state-corruption, the original Spanish-language film did not do this, and reimagined reproductions of some of the iconic scenes from that film don't work in the context, it's simply not good enough to just repeat them, I would have encouraged Gina Rodriguez to stay hiding under that bed, until the producers and director all left, and she could get out without having to shoot anyone with an assault-rifle in the name of female empowerment, there is a point where equality doesn't mean repeating all the stupid mistakes men make and in a female-lead female-directed production like this there is an opportunity to do something better and maybe more sophisticated.

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