''Miss Bala'' (English: "Miss Bullet") is a 2019

action thriller The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

film directed by

Catherine Hardwicke Catherine Hardwicke is an American film director, production designer, and screenwriter. Her directorial work includes '' Thirteen'' (2003), which she co-wrote with Nikki Reed, the film's co-star, '' Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), '' The Nativity ...

and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, based on the 2011 Mexican film of the same name. The film stars

Gina Rodriguez Gina Alexis Rodriguez (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Globe Award f ...

Ismael Cruz Córdova Ismael Enrique Cruz Córdova (born April 7, 1987) is a Puerto Rican actor who gained national attention for his role as Mando on ''Sesame Street''. Other credits include ''The Good Wife'' (2011), '' In the Blood'' (2014), ''Exposed'' (2016), '' ...

, and

Anthony Mackie Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. He gained wide recognition for portraying Sam Wilson / Falcon / Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with the film '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier ...

, and follows a woman who trains to take down a

Mexican drug cartel The Mexican drug war is an ongoing asymmetric armed conflict between the Mexican government and various drug trafficking syndicates. When the Mexican military intervened in 2006, the government's main objective was to reduce drug-related viol ...

after her friend is kidnapped. The film was released in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on February 1, 2019, by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

, in

Dolby Cinema Dolby Cinema is a type of premium large format movie theater created by Dolby Laboratories that combines Dolby proprietary technologies such as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, as well as other signature entrance and intrinsic design features. Th ...

. The film was a

box office flop A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, grossing $15.4 million worldwide against a $15 million production budget. While Rodriguez's performance received some praise, critics compared the film unfavorably to the original, saying it suffered from "bland action and predictable story beats".

Plot

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, makeup artist Gloria Fuentes visits her best friend Suzu Ramós. Gloria and Suzu plan to enter the upcoming "Miss Baja California"

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

, and hope to improve their chances by impressing the influential

municipal police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive fundi ...

chief Rafael Saucedo at a nightclub. While Gloria is in the bathroom, the nightclub is attacked by armed gunmen and Gloria is separated from Suzu, who disappears in the chaos. Gloria reports Suzu's disappearance to the police and accompanies an officer to search for her, but the officer abandons Gloria in a remote area, where she is kidnapped by Las Estrellas, the

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...

behind the nightclub attack. Gloria is brought before Las Estrellas's leader, Lino Esparza, who offers to help Gloria find Suzu if she agrees to work for them, as her American citizenship makes her useful; she reluctantly agrees. After committing a

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...

ing as an

initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...

, Gloria is entered into the Miss Baja pageant. She secretly meets

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

agent Brian Reich and agrees to become an

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

in exchange for not being prosecuted for the crime. Gloria accompanies Lino to an exchange of money and drugs for weapons with Jimmy, an American illegal arms dealer. Gloria informs Reich, who leads a

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...

to intervene in the transaction, resulting in a shootout that jeopardizes Gloria's safety; Reich reveals he never intended to help her, as the car bombing she helped commit killed DEA agents. Lino tries to save Gloria but is shot in the leg; Gloria decides to save him, and they flee in a car while Lino's men hold off the police and kill Reich. Lino and Gloria begin to bond. Later, Lino tasks Gloria with assassinating Saucedo, and presents video evidence that Suzu was kidnapped at the nightclub and auctioned off into

forced prostitution Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" app ...

under Saucedo's corrupt watch. Gloria agrees and, as part of the plan, wins the Miss Baja pageant when Lino bribes the judges, securing her an invitation to an after-party hosted by Saucedo. Gloria agrees to spend the night with Saucedo, making sure Lino knows where to find him. However, she runs into Suzu at the party and realizes it was Lino, not Saucedo, who sold Suzu into prostitution. Gloria warns Saucedo of the assassination plot just before Las Estrellas attacks the party. Retrieving a rifle from a dying corrupt officer, Gloria searches for Suzu in the chaos and finds her outside, just as Saucedo tries using her as a human shield; Gloria shoots Saucedo in the leg, forcing him to release Suzu and allowing Lino to kill him. Gloria then holds Lino at gunpoint, telling him she knows the truth about Suzu and the prostitution racket, and shoots him dead when he tries to pull a gun on her. Police reinforcements arrive and Gloria and Suzu are arrested. Gloria is taken to an interrogation room where she is met by Jimmy, who reveals himself to be an undercover

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

operative tasked with dismantling Mexican cartels involved in international crime. Jimmy and Gloria make a deal: Suzu will be released and both of them will be cleared of all charges, while Gloria will work as a CIA asset to infiltrate the cartels. After being released, Gloria drives Suzu back to her family and leaves with Jimmy for her first assignment.

Cast

as Gloria Fuentes, a

makeup artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions inc ...

from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. *

as Lino Esparza, the chief of Las Estrellas, a gang from

. *

Matt Lauria Matthew Lauria (born August 15, 1982) is an American actor and musician. He made his television debut on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'' in 2007. He is best known for his roles as Luke Cafferty on the NBC/DirecTV drama '' Friday Night Lights'', Ryan ...

as Brian Reich, a

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domes ...

agent who suspects Gloria to be a part of the cartel. * Ricardo Abarca as Pollo, Lino's main henchman. *

Cristina Rodlo Cristina Rodríguez Lozano (born May 21, 1990) is a Mexican actress who appeared as Isabel Urrutia Zavaleta in 93 episodes of ''Vuelve temprano (Mexican TV series), Vuelve Temprano'' (2016 – 2017) and 23 episodes of ''El Vato'' (2017). She has ...

as Suzu Ramós, Gloria's best friend who lives in Tijuana and a competitor on the Miss Baja California pageant. * Sebastián Cano as Chava Ramós, Suzu's little brother who lives with her. *

Damián Alcázar Damián Alcázar (born January 8, 1953) is a Mexican actor and politician, who is best known outside of Mexico as Lord Sopespian in '' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'', Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela in the Netflix series ''Narcos'' and ...

as Rafael Saucedo, the chief of Tijuana's

. *

as Jimmy, a gangster from

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, who is secretly a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

agent. *

Aislinn Derbez Aislinn González Michel (born 18 March 1987), better known as Aislinn Derbez, is a Mexican actress. Early life and career Aislinn González Michel is the daughter of actors Eugenio Derbez and Gabriela Michel, who were married from 1986 to 198 ...

as Isabel, a woman abducted by Las Estrellas. * Lilian Guadalupe Tapia Robles as Doña Rosita, a woman who works for Las Estrellas. * Erick Rene Delgadillo Urbina as Tucán, Lino's henchman. * Mikhail Plata as Chivo, Lino's henchman. * Jorge Humberto Millan Mardueño as Ortiz, Lino's henchman. * Thomas Dekker as Justin, Gloria's boss in Los Angeles. * José Sefami as Don Ramon, a man who work for Rafael Saucedo. * Gaby Orihuela as the coordinator of the Miss Baja California pageant. * Roberto Sosa as a police officer who secretly works for Las Estrellas.

Production

In April 2017, it was announced

would direct the film, from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, with

Kevin Misher Kevin Misher is an American movie and television producer via his Los Angeles–based production company, Misher Films. Early life Misher was born in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and raised in Queens, New York. He earned a Bachelor's degree in ...

and Pablo Cruz producing the film, with

Andy Berman Andrew Mark Berman (born February 24, 1968) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his role as Dib Membrane in ''Invader Zim'', Dennis in '' The Jamie Foxx Show'' (1996-1997), Chuck in '' The Wonder ...

serving as an executive producer on the film. In May 2017,

and

joined the cast of the film. In July 2017,

, Cristina Rodlo, and

joined the cast of the film.

later joined the cast of the film. The cast and crew are said to be 95 percent Latino. Sony reportedly spent $15 million producing the film.

Release

The film was released in the United States on February 1, 2019, after having previously been set for a January 25, 2019 release. It was in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2019.

Reception

Box office

''Miss Bala'' has grossed $15 million in the United States and Canada, and $173,237 in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $15.2 million, against a production budget of $15 million. In the United States and Canada, ''Miss Bala'' was projected to gross $6–9 million from 2,203 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $2.8 million on its first day, including $650,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $6.7 million, finishing third at the box office. ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' wrote that given its $15 million production budget, an opening of $10–12 million would've been an ideal start in order for the film to turn a profit. It fell 60% in its second weekend to $2.7 million, finishing 10th.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 22% based on 114 reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Miss Bala'' suggests Gina Rodriguez has a future as an action hero; unfortunately, it also demonstrates how hard it is to balance set pieces against a compelling story." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 41 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at

PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a fil ...

gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars; social media monitor RelishMix noted online responses to the film were "mixed-to-negative".

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...

, writing for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' was critical of the film, saying, "Run away from Gina Rodriguez's ludicrous drug running shoot-em-up... ''Miss Bala'' is an early contender for a spot on my list of the worst movies of 2019."

References

External links

* * {{Catherine Hardwicke 2019 action thriller films 2019 films 2019 crime action films 2019 crime thriller films 2019 multilingual films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s Mexican films 2010s Spanish-language films Action film remakes American action thriller films American crime action films American crime thriller films American multilingual films American remakes of Mexican films Columbia Pictures films Crime film remakes English-language action thriller films English-language Mexican films Films about beauty pageants Films about Mexican drug cartels Films directed by Catherine Hardwicke Films scored by Alex Heffes Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Tijuana Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Mexico Mexican action thriller films Mexican crime thriller films Mexican multilingual films Spanish-language American films Spanish-language action thriller films Thriller film remakes English-language crime action films English-language crime thriller films