Colombiana (2011)
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A young girl's quest for revenge against a drug lord leads her to become a deadly assassin.
The story
In 1992, in Bogota, Colombia, a young girl named Cataleya is forced to flee after her parents are murdered by a drug lord's men. She escapes to the United States with a memory card containing incriminating information on the drug lord's business. Fifteen years later, Cataleya has become a skilled assassin, working under the guidance of her uncle in Chicago. She leaves a signature flower at every crime scene, hoping to eventually draw out the man responsible for her family's death. However, her actions begin to draw unwanted attention from federal authorities, putting her and those around her in grave danger.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1992, in Bogota, Colombia, drug baron Don Luis Sandoval orders the execution of Fabio Restrepo and his family. Before he is killed, Fabio gives his nine-year-old daughter, Cataleya, a memory card containing evidence of Don Luis' operations and the address of her uncle in Chicago. Cataleya escapes to the U.S. and, after being trained by her uncle Emilio, becomes a professional assassin. By 2007, she is a skilled killer who leaves a Cattleya flower at every scene to bait Don Luis. Her activities eventually alert the FBI, led by agent James Ross. After a series of events, she discovers that Don Luis' men have murdered her uncle and his family. She confronts Ross and eventually obtains the location of Don Luis. She ambushes Don Luis' men, kills them, and ensures Don Luis is captured by her trained dogs. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Danny is interrogated by Ross, and she eventually leaves town.
- First release year
- 2011
- Runtime (minutes)
- 108
- Production countries
- France
- Original languages
- English; Spanish
- Directors
- Olivier Megaton
- Writers
- Luc Besson · writer; Robert Mark Kamen · writer
- Cast and characters
- Zoe Saldaña · Cataleya; Michael Vartan; Cliff Curtis; Lennie James; Callum Blue; Jordi Mollà
- Genres
- action; thriller
- Themes
- revenge; justice
- Tone and mood
- action-packed; tense
- Setting
- Bogota, Colombia (1992) and Chicago, Illinois (2007)
- Premise and plot tags
- assassin; vigilante
- Source material / true-story basis
- Mathilda
- Reception
- The film had a generally unfavorable reception from critics, but Saldaña's performance and action sequences were praised.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 45 · scale: 100 · review count: 22; CinemaScore · score: A- · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Teen Choice Award · winning films · win
- Production trivia
- The script was based on Mathilda, originally written by Luc Besson as a sequel to Léon: The Professional.; The film was produced by EuropaCorp.; The film was shot in locations including Chicago, New Orleans, Mexico, and France.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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