Zoe Saldaña is the secret key to having your film be one of the highest-grossing ever made, enjoying a lengthy series of hits since 2009’s Avatar. Just years after the monstrous success of James Cameron’s game-changer, she starred in an action flick which nobody remembers fondly. Now, it’s somehow living a second life on streaming.
You’d be forgiven for not remembering 2011’s actioner Colombiana, which was produced by iconic French filmmaker Luc Besson and directed by Taken 2 and 3‘s Olivier Megaton. Much like Megaton’s Liam Neeson vehicles, it’s yet again a revenge story surrounding drug cartel shenanigans and a blood debt stretching back to youth.
12 years since release, Colombiana is racking up the views as it climbs Netflix’s Top 10. Seeing an impressive 4.8 million hours viewed in one week, it has put the heat on another 2011 action film Transformers: Dark of the Moon on the charts. Sitting at ninth spot, it’s a surprise return to streaming relevance seemingly out of nowhere.
The Saldaña-led film sees her play a hired killer who is desperately seeking revenge for her parents who were killed when she was a child. Interestingly, the younger version of the hero is played by soon-to-be Star Wars: The Acolyte lead Amandla Stenberg. Saldaña’s Cataleya leaves a specific calling card for each kill, and it helps her unravel a mystery.
Why exactly Colombiana is heading back into people’s watch-list is unclear. Critically rejected with a 28 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s also far from popular with some Colombians. PorColombia’s president described it as harmful stereotyping, and a sign of “total lack of creativity” within Hollywood.
Colombiana is available to stream on Netflix.