Summary
AlthoughTrigger Warningwas recently released on Netflix, its Rotten Tomatoes rating indicates that viewers might be better off seeking out an older Jessica Alba action movie. Jessica Alba has enjoyed her fair share of box office success, but the star has a mixed history when it comes to the critical reception of her movies. For every successful hit likeSin CityorThe Killer Inside Me, Alba has a handful of critical disappointments, likeInto the BlueandThe Love Guru. Unfortunately,Trigger Warning’s Rotten Tomatoes ratingproves that Alba’s latest movie has kept this problem alive.
Acclaimed Indonesian director Mouly Surya directedTrigger Warning, which stars Alba as Parker, a Special Forces officer who returns to her hometown after her father’s death. After taking over her father’s bar, Parker finds herself embroiled in a war with the criminal gang that now runs her hometown. Admittedly, it fared better thanJessica Alba’s last action movieKillers Anonymous, but nonetheless, the Netflix action movie’s acting, action, story, and visual style were all lambasted by critics, with the movie earning a risible 23%Rotten Tomatoescritical rating upon its release.
Trigger Warning Cast & Character Guide
The new Netflix action movie Trigger Warning is packed with familiar faces from the streamer’s other properties, modern releases, and classic hits.
Machete Is The Better Jessica Alba Action Movie Over Trigger Warning
Trigger Warning Takes Itself Much More Seriously Than Machete
Fortunately,2010’sMacheteis a much better, more fun Jessica Alba action moviethan the self-serious, predictableTrigger Warning. One ofdirector Robert Rodriguez’s wilder movies,Machetestarred Danny Trejo as a lethal former federale who gets caught up in a plot between a corrupt senator, a shady businessman, and various other criminals. Based on the fake movie trailer of the same name from Rodriguez and Tarantino’s ambitious meta-experimentGrindhouse,Macheteis a madcap, cartoonish, and ultra-violent action spectacular.Machetebrought together a starry cast including Alba, Trejo, Lindsay Lohan, Robert De Niro, and Michelle Rodriguez.
Alba plays Sartana Rivera, an immigration officer who must choose between siding with the law or Machete as the story progresses. UnlikeTrigger Warning,Machetenever lends much weight to her choice, since the movie is wise enough to never take itself seriously.Machetewas meaningful to Trejo, but the best thing about Rodriguez’s underrated action movie is just how much it refuses to slow down and address any of the serious issues its storyline touches on. Political corruption, immigration, religion, nationalism, and big business are all mentioned, then drowned out in a deafening hail of non-stop gunfire.
Why Trigger Warning’s Rotten Tomatoes Scores Are So Low
Jessica Alba’s New Netflix Thriller Fared Poorly With Reviewers
UnlikeMachete,Trigger Warningtakes itself very seriously. Some variation on its painfully familiar plot has been seen in everything fromWalking TalltoDeath Wish 3toThe Substitutefranchise, so it is tough to care about Parker’s predicament or fear for her fate as the plot plods on wearily. Most reviewers citedTrigger Warning’s lack of surprises as its biggest flaw, as well as humdrum action and an overabundance of clichés. Without the jaw-dropping stunts of theJohn Wickmovies or a self-aware sense of humor to elevate proceedings,Trigger Warninginevitably did nothing to improve Jessica Alba’s critical standing.
