‘Miss Bala’ is a misfire — but star Gina Rodriguez is a direct hit

Gloria Fuentes is no magnificence queen. A snotty pageant coordinator makes that fairly clear when the introverted Los Angeleno (Gina Rodriguez) travels from California to Tijuana to see her Mexican bestie, Suzu, compete for the Miss Baja title. When sarcastically requested if she’s coming into, too, Gloria shyly mumbles, “No” — she’s simply a make-up artist.This is the final time you’ll pity Rodriguez in “Miss Bala” (bala is bullet in Spanish), the American remake of an acclaimed Mexican thriller. Positive, she virtually instantly will get caught in drug-cartel crossfire on the native nightclub she and Suzu hit up with shady pageant officers. Suzu goes lacking within the melee, and a brutalized Gloria finds herself kidnapped by the sadistic Mexican drug lord, Lino (a menacing, efficient Ismael Cruz Cordova), and his pack of tatted-up thugs. They maintain her buddy hostage to blackmail Gloria into smuggling laundered money throughout the border to San Diego. A violent sequence of occasions leads her to unhelpful DEA brokers who may simply view her as disposable bait to lure Lino. Because the physique depend piles up, so do Gloria’s survival instincts. Rodriguez (CW’s “Jane the Virgin”) is riveting to look at, even when her movie fails her. Catherine Hardwicke’s (“Twilight”) course is competent, but what was born as a banger is slicked up Hollywood-style, pitting it in opposition to a pulse-pounding motion flick’s deadliest villain: a gradual tempo. One enchancment over the unique: Whereas 2011’s “Miss Bala” relentlessly victimized its heroine, Rodriguez’s Gloria has company. Because the digital camera closes in on her expressive eyes, you recognize she’s not going to cease preventing her manner out of this border-crime hell. When Lino lastly forces Gloria to go undercover as a Miss Baja contestant to entrap his nemesis, the stress ratchets up. It’s pure pulp, but you possibly can’t assist but root for this all-Mexican-American woman to win. You cheer a little when tables flip and revenge appears inside attain. Total, “Miss Bala” is a misfire — but its main woman is No. 1 with a bullet. And that’s a stunning sight to see. [embedded content] Share this: https://nypost.com/2019/01/31/miss-bala-is-a-misfire-but-star-gina-rodriguez-is-a-direct-hit/ The post ‘Miss Bala’ is a misfire — but star Gina Rodriguez is a direct hit appeared first on My style by Kartia.