MISS BALA is the English-language remake of the popular Mexican thriller of 2011, made almost shot-for-shot identical. The only differences are that it's not in Spanish and the cast is different. Otherwise, if you've seen the original movie then there's very little reason to watch this, because it really does go through the same motions. Plot, mood, characters and suspense are all identical, although the sense of shock and surprise at key moments is missing if you've seen the original. It's certainly not a bad film, evoking the same kind of grittiness as the SICARIO movies, but it does feel more than a little redundant given the existence of the first film.

Gloria Fuentes (Gina Rodriguez) is a Los Angeles makeup artist of Mexican heritage. She crosses the border to help her best friend Suzu Ramós in Mexico to enter the Miss Baja beauty contest. They go to a nightclub to make connections for Suzu's competition. The girls get in the middle of a war between gang leader Lino Esparza and police chief Saucedo. Suzu goes missing after the shootout in the club. Gloria gets kidnapped by Lino and forced to do his bidding.

Despite some issues, I do like the original Mexican movie. The main difference in this one is the Americanized lead character. It adds a whole new layer to the intensity. She is a fish out of water. She has a disconnection to this world which is helpful to the tension. It does leave open her possibility of simply escaping back to America. That's why her relationship with Suzu is so important. It's the thing that anchors her to her predicament. It needs an introductory exposition to show why she is more family than friend. The audience needs to be prepared for her fight to the death to save her friend. Quite frankly, the beauty pageant also needs to be explained earlier. It's an odd dangling thread until Lino finally explains it in the third act. Lino should at least tell her about Saucedo's connection to the pageant for the audience's sake. There are some additional issues from the premise. Director Catherine Hardwicke is trying her hand at action with mixed results. It's got the explosions but it needs a bit more outrageous violence. This should be more John Wick and less Sicario. It would fit better with the outrageous story. After all, the big visual of the movie is a gun-totting Gloria in her red ball gown. It needs to embrace that look and style as the style for the whole movie.

Gloria (Gina Rodriguez) does professional make-up. She is a US citizen who has a Mexican parent. She visits her friend Suzu (Cristina Rodlo) in Mexico. Suzu is entering the Miss Baja contest. While at a fancy party with rich men, there is a cartel shootout. The girls are separated and Gloria finds herself in a jam and digs herself deeper. She eventually discovers that everyone is crooked and she can trust no one. If she wants to save her friend, she has to do this by her own wits.

Gloria is no Liam Neeson or Uma Thurman for that matter, but there were a few good shootout scenes in the film. However, a lot of the film had so-so scenes. The dialogue could have been better. Could have had a Miami Vice soundtrack. Entertaining, but don't expect a lot.

Guide: Don't recall any F-words, but I don't know Spanish. No sex. No nudity. Gina Rodriguez made to strip to bra and panties.