What happened to Catherine Hardwicke? She stormed on to the scene back in 2003 with her harrowing teen drama Thirteen, which undoubtedly scared the shit out of plenty of the millennial generation’s parents and cancelled more sleepovers than we’ll ever know, but her career has been one of diminishing returns ever since then. Sure, we’re pretty big fans of Lords of Dogtown, specifically Heath Ledger’s performance in it, but by the time The Nativity Story hit theaters in 2006, things were looking down. Her gun-for-hire gigs after — Twilight, Red Riding Hood — have only exacerbated the problem, and her latest, the Gina Rodriguez-starring Miss Bala, only looks to continue the trend. Sony Pictures dropped a trailer for the film today, and, well, it doesn’t seem very good.
Take a look:
We haven’t seen the original Miss Bala, but we’re hearing that it’s more in the vein of something like the first Sicario than your garden-variety empowerment revenge thriller, and that’s kind of a bummer. Rodriguez, of course, kicks ass, but one wonders if the Americanization of this type of thriller is directly correlated to the national psyche: Of course the Hollywood remake is about empowerment and revenge, rather than the powerlessness felt by a person caught between massive forces that the original is said to portray. Either way, it’s a bit odd, but we’ll definitely check it out next year and hope for the very, very best.
Here’s a very underwhelming synopsis:
“Gloria (Gina Rodriguez) finds a power she never knew she had when she is drawn into a dangerous world of cross-border crime. Surviving will require all of her cunning, inventiveness, and strength.”
Miss Bala hits theaters on February 1.
Featured image via Sony Pictures.