“Miss Bala”, which roughly translates to “Miss Bullet”, was released on Feb. 1st. It’s a typical action movie that has more screen time dedicated to explosions instead of meaningful character development and plot. The movie stars Gina Rodriguez from CW’s popular dramedy series “Jane the Virgin” as Gloria. In the movie, Gloria has to expose the drug cartel that kidnaps her. With a flimsy plot and unrealistic characters, the movie fails to provide the heart-stopping, high-thrills experience associated with action movies.

The movie takes place in Tijuana, Mexico, where a drug cartel lead by, Lino (Ismael Cruz Córdova) kidnaps Gloria and forces her to do illegal activities for them. In an accurate representation of human trafficking, Lino threatens Gloria’s loved ones if she disobeys. There was barely any character development throughout the movie. The motives of the characters were unclear because they were so underdeveloped. It seemed that some characters and plot segments were there to fill up time, as they appeared mid-act and then disappeared without explanation. The movie lacked a straightforward plot and character development, making it difficult for the audience to be immersed in the story. The accuracy of the film was also questionable, with action sequences that could only be made possible with heavy-handed movie magic.

Even though “Miss Bala” is short of important movie components, it doesn’t lack good acting. Gina Rodriguez portrayed Gloria very well, and although Gloria’s personality doesn’t change much throughout the movie, we do she becomes more confident as the movie progresses, and in the end, Rodriguez’s performance is good enough that we want to root for her character. Ismael Cruz Córdova’s portrayal of Lino, the cartel leader, was also done well, as we can see him become more sympathetic as the movie progresses. As an example of the “good yet bad guy”, his character seemed too predictable. The main problem is that these are two very competent actors whose talents were wasted on a movie that didn’t allow them to reach their full potential.

“Miss Bala” is one of those “accident” movies which leave the audience wondering why so many things could be missing. There were more holes in the plot’s armor in the story than bullets fired by “Miss Bullet”, leading me to conclude that it was an unrealistic movie without any real purpose.