Miss Bala
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: February 1, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
41
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
17
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 1, 2019
The souped-up plot is certainly indigestible (cheesecake, beefcake, bullets — choke on that), and there’s a steady stream of bad laughs, but something genuinely frightening comes through: a woman’s sense of disempowerment by men on all sides of the law. Hardwicke sticks to her guns — meaning there’s no play in the gunplay, only horror. Read full review
60
TheWrapYolanda MachadoJan 31, 2019
What this new version forgets, to its detriment, is that Gloria’s strength doesn’t come from finally holding the gun; it comes from being a survivor. Read full review
53
IGNRosie KnightJan 31, 2019
Miss Bala never quite delivers on its potential and lets down the woman at its center. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 6, 2019
There’s a "don’t overthink this” watchability to Miss Bala. Read full review
50
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonFeb 5, 2019
The remake, directed by Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke, makes substantial changes — taking the bare bones of the story and turning into a sort action-fable about female empowerment, starring Jane the Virgin headliner Gina Rodriguez. Read full review
50
Rolling StoneBilge EbiriFeb 1, 2019
Without the unyielding forward charge of the original, however, the far-fetched story doesn’t really work. And the movie’s attempts to explain its characters doesn’t make them any deeper; quite the contrary, it renders them simplistic. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloFeb 1, 2019
The Mexican film now has a Hollywood remake, one that adds new elements to the story but is less coherent in its message. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattJan 31, 2019
It’s mostly left to Rodriguez to carry the absurdity on her shoulders, and the fact that she makes it so watchable is a real testament to her abilities. Next time, may the material rise at least halfway to meet her. Read full review
50
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldJan 31, 2019
Rodriguez does just enough to keep things mildly interesting. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerJan 31, 2019
It’s somehow both less explicit and more blandly lascivious than its nastier counterpart, equally skittish about exploitation and saying anything meaningful about its subject. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleDanielle WhiteJan 31, 2019
There are times when it’s funny. There are also times when it beats you over the head with context clues. When the action ramps up, the over-the-top music score seems to stomp its foot and say, “Something is hap-pen-ing!” Certain plot points are overemphasized. It veers toward parody. But it’s also satisfying to see the outcome. Read full review
50
USA TodayBrian TruittJan 31, 2019
What keeps it all watchable is Rodriguez’s magnetism. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 31, 2019
Miss Bala no longer serves as a critique of a system that might allow innocent people to get caught in the crossfire of the drug war, but as the kick-ass origin story for a new kind of action hero. Read full review
42
The PlaylistKimber MyersJan 31, 2019
Miss Bala fails both when judged on its own merits and when compared to its predecessor. Just like Gloria in the film itself, Rodriguez is the only hero here. She works hard to elevate the material, but both she and her character deserve so much better than this. Read full review
40
Screen DailyTim GriersonFeb 1, 2019
A bullet-riddled tale of unlikely female empowerment, Miss Bala toys with exploitation and social commentary but doesn’t have the ingenuity or nerve to successfully pull off either. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJan 31, 2019
It’s understandable that Hardwicke didn’t want to mimic her predecessor’s moves. But in chop-chop-chopping the action into standard Hollywood fragments, she has drained the material of its tension, its meaning and its purpose, to say nothing of its beauty. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJan 31, 2019
Gareth Dunnet Alcocer's script has a tidy, programmed feel that results in a feel-good version of a grim and sordid modern yarn. Read full review
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