Miss Bala stars the amazing actress Gina Rodriguez who, after coming off the reign from her Jane The Virgin fame, has definitely got a gem on her hands with this remake. This film, without a lack of words, is absolutely worth the watch. Even though I had preconceived notions about watching it, I gave it a chance anyway and it was amazing. The twists in the story make you compelled to finish; You just can't help but anticipate what's going to happen next.
Now for those who may not have heard of Miss Bala, it is centered on Gloria Fuentes, who is a Los Angeles based makeup artist. After deciding to visit her best friend Suzu in Mexico, her entire life changes in just one night. While attending the night club with her best friend, Gloria goes to the bathroom where she is told, “you have 10 seconds to leave this club if you want to stay alive.” Gloria runs out the club to go and alert Suzu, but is caught in the crossfire as her 10 seconds runs out and she's suddenly in the middle of the shootout.
This scene was very realistic, it was all so clear to witness what was going on. After the shootout, it's clear that something unknown has happened to Suzu and Gloria makes it her mission to find her. After some silly decisions on Gloria's part, it then turns her life into an all out crime story. After unknowingly alerting an officer, whose actually apart of the shooting, that she knows the faces of the shooters, she is taken and made to participate in numerous tasks for the Boss Lino, played by the amazing Ismael Cordova. Gloria agrees to cooperate as Lino promises to help her look for Suzu.
Even though Lino’s character clearly can't be trusted, in a way you root for him and Gloria to have this relationship but then you are reminded that this man is INSANE. As the film goes on, Gloria gets smarter and stronger and that's the best part for me, watching her evolution from “Okay, what the hell are you doing?” to “Okay, she just earned the title as Miss Bala."
It has a lot of surprising twists and turns that I was not expecting but definitely appreciated for the plots sake. The action all around was good enough for me even though I noticed many people saying it wasn't enough, it was just the right amount for me. All in all, this film definitely gets my recommendation, I would even see it again. The only fault I had with the film is the way Gloria's character was treated by the male characters, though it was a truthful take on because she was there against her will. Watch the movie, you will see what I mean and see that even though Jane the Virgin is done, Gina Rodriguez is still a force to be reckoned with.
Echo Grade: A
