The first film I suppose I remember with Zoe Saldaña is Star Trek (2009), in which she played Nyota Uhura, the communications officer of the famous starship U.S.S. Enterprise.  As I have never been a fan of that franchise, my memory of that role is a little fuzzy, though I do recall seeing it in the theater.  The early one that stands out for me, before the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) got a hold of her, is as Cataleya Restrepo in Colombiana (2011).  In Star Trek, she plays a prominent character.  Yet, I feel like it is Colombiana that put her on track to be in the MCU.  I believe the rest of this review will support this assertion.

In case it is not clear, Cataleya is the Colombiana, though this fact by itself is not remarkable.  In 1992, she is the young daughter (Amandla Stenberg) of Alicia (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and Fabio Restrepo (Jesse Borrego), a family fittingly living in Bogotá, Colombia.  If you know anything about that country’s struggles with drug cartels, the fact that the Restrepos are involved with one should also not be surprising.  Yet, Fabio has gone to Don Luis Sandoval (Beto Benites), the drug lord to whom Fabio is related, to say that he is getting out of that life.  Before Fabio is out the door, Don Luis orders his right-hand man, Marco (Jordi Mollà), to murder the entire Restrepo family.  Fabio knows too much about Don Luis’ dealings to be left alive.  Upon getting to his house, Fabio gives little Cataleya a data card and instructions as to where to go if they get separated, as well as the address of her uncle, Emilio Restrepo (Cliff Curtis), in Chicago in the United States.  These last words prove prophetic as Marco and his henchmen arrive and kill Alicia and Fabio in front of Cataleya.  Marco sits down in front of the girl and calmly asks for the information she possesses, only for him to be stabbed by her in the hand.  Cataleya next leads her attackers on a chase through the streets of the Colombian capital, acrobatically climbing buildings when necessary.  I guess she is a parkours prodigy?  Anyway, she makes it to the United States embassy in the city, handing over the chip and getting transport to America.  Once there, she slips out of protective custody and makes her way to the Windy City.  When she finds her uncle, it is apparent that he is also in the criminal business, but he agrees to watch after her.  It does not take her long to decide that she wants to become a killer, the obvious intent being revenge.  While she is eager to get started on her training right away, Emilio forces her to go to school in order to become a more well-rounded assassin, for lack of a better term.  We next fast forward fifteen years, and the adult Cataleya is grown up and has begun her dream career.  It is her uncle that gives her the contracts, and we see this early on when she poses as a drunk woman involved in an accident to get thrown in the same jail as her target.  She then deftly sneaks into the cell of a man being transported by United States Marshals, putting a few bullets in him, and leaving her orchid calling card drawn on his chest (her name is a variety of the tropical flower).  Just as stealthily, she exits the precinct and is on her way.  Getting back to Chicago, Emilio learns that she is putting the mark on her victims and tells her that she cannot do so anymore.  Cataleya is adamant that this is how she will be able to find Don Luis.  Agreeing to disagree, she goes to what is a “normal” life for her, which includes sleeping with an artist named Danny Delanay (Michael Vartan).  Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), led by Special Agent James Ross (Lennie James), is the one who begins looking into her work, which have reached a body count in the twenties.  We also find out that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), at the behest of Agent Steve Richard (Callum Blue), has moved Don Luis to New Orleans.  The drug lord is allowed to continue his nefarious dealings in exchange for intelligence on other organizations.  These disparate parties are brought together when Cataleya is sent on another mission, this time to Mexico, taking out not only her next victim, but all the guards.  This makes her even more prominent, and this time Emilio threatens cutting her out of his life completely if she does not give up these activities.  This appears to be her intent until Danny takes a picture of her sleeping and shows it to his friend.  This friend shares it with his sister-in-law, who works in law enforcement, wanting to get information on this woman with whom Danny is clearly in love.  Putting Cataleya’s face in the system leads the FBI to her home, though she is able to evade their attempt to arrest her.  Unfortunately, this also leads Don Luis to Emilio, and her uncle’s gruesome death.  Feeling backed into a corner, Cataleya sneaks into Special Agent Ross’ home and threatens his family if he does not reveal Don Luis’ location.  He does not know this information, but he suspects Agent Richard does.  Special Agent Ross goes to his CIA counterpart’s office the next day, a move that Cataleya anticipates.  Watching from a distance through a sniper scope, she shoots the office to get Agent Richard give up what she wants.  From there, it is a trip to New Orleans and Don Luis’ compound to do what Cataleya does best.  She shares one last conversation with Danny on the phone while he is being questioned by Special Agent Ross before she hangs up and the film ends.

Colombiana is a pretty standard revenge film, though there are some points of interest in its background.  Its writer, Luc Besson, also directed Léon: The Professional (1994).  Colombiana originally was intended as a sequel to this earlier film, but some conflicts arose.  From a Catholic perspective, what interests me more is the protest of a group called PorColombia, a network of students and professionals that are dedicated promoting Colombia in a positive light.  They criticized this film for its stereotypical depiction of the South American country.  Speaking of stereotypes, we have, yet again, foreign Catholics shown as being involved in crime.  This is not new here, but something to note.  It also bears repeating that the Church does not condone avenging tragedy in this manner.  Matthew 5:39 is where you find the Bible passage about turning the other cheek.  Still, if you feel that this Scripture is overused, the film provides a different version of it.  In talking about his work, Danny says that a painting is not something you finish, you just stop working on it.  On the face of it, this does not seem to relate to vengeance.  Yet, it is something that Cataleya fixates on, and her art is death.  She feels like she cannot rest until those who wronged her have paid with their lives.  In other words, she has been struck on the cheek.  To continue in her world would be to repay the blow with her own.  Danny’s words call for her to stop.  In art, this might lead to a piece looking unfinished, or for Cataleya, a destiny unfulfilled.  God is the ultimate artist, and He knows when and, more importantly, how to fill in the kinds of spaces alluded to in this already overworked metaphor.

Colombiana has a lot of violence and some near nudity.  I have seen more gratuitous forms of each, unfortunately, though that should not be construed as an offhand vote of confidence for this movie.  There is nothing special about it, both in its content and the fact that the main character follows a sinful path.  It is one that can be easily skipped.  Besides, Saldaña has done better films.