Trigger Warning: A Disappointing Watch

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I recently noticed a new #1 movie on Netflix called ‘Trigger Warning.’ When I saw that it stars a big-name actress, Jessica Alba, it went straight to the top of my watch list. The trailer didn’t look very impressive, but when you’ve seen most of the movies on Netflix, you jump at something new. Especially if it features an actress you know has talent.

Unfortunately, a good actress couldn’t save this movie. To be fair, I can’t say I watched the entire movie. I actually fell asleep for at least 20 minutes in the middle. But let me give you a little bit of a review.

First, the premise of the movie is that a small-town girl finds out her father is dead. When she returns home, she is told it’s a suicide, which she doesn’t really believe. She investigates and discovers that smugglers are using her father’s ranch to smuggle weapons and carry out a terror plot.

At least, I think that’s the plot. I honestly had a tough time figuring out what was going on, so I’m not entirely sure.

Next up: What’s wrong with the movie?

If I had to pick the two things that bothered me the most, they would be the casting and the camera work.

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Casting:

I was really excited to see Jessica Alba in a new movie. I’ve enjoyed many of her earlier films and was hoping for more of the same. However, in movies, there’s something called “suspension of disbelief.” It’s hard to believe that our heroine is tough enough to throw around bad guys like ragdolls and has ninja-like skills. She looks more like a house mom, not Rambo. Knowing that she is actually a wealthy businesswoman and a mother of two doesn’t add to her believability as a badass. If they had played up that she was a mom who happened to be a badass, that would have been great. Instead, they start her off by surviving a vehicle tipping over and playing ninja to take out two armed combatants. Ugh.

But the bad casting doesn’t end there. My sister kept asking me, “Who is that guy?” and usually, I cut her some slack. She has a tough time picking out differences in white guys. However, in this movie, the main bad guys and main good guys all seemed to blend together. Stocky redneck white guys. I kept wondering: Is that the sheriff, the bad guy, or the bad guy’s brother? Even the main terrorist bad guy and army dudes all kept blending together. If there were distinctive clothes, distinctive markers, or other ways to tell them apart, maybe I would have liked it better. But overall, if you can’t figure out the good guys from the bad guys because they all kind of look the same… well, that’s not good.

_{Source, Image used under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976}

Lighting:

This is probably one of my biggest pet peeves in the movie: bad lighting. Really dark lighting. It was worse than “Game of Thrones” in some parts. I found myself staring at the screen, wondering what was going on. I saw her go in there, and now there are a lot of dark characters I can’t make out. Who’s fighting who? Why do I care? From nighttime bar scenes to fights in underground caves, it was dark—way too dark.

Forced Wokeness and Stereotypes

And then there is the woke stuff.

Now, I have nothing against strong female leads, adding different racial backgrounds, or other things considered “woke.” However, here it just didn’t play well. The lady comes to save the man and says something cheesy like “Your rescued princess.” Okay, really? The woman saves the man… fair enough, but why use “princess” like it’s an insult? Why not say something like “The fair prince has been saved”? Or even “My knight to be rescued”? Add in the stereotype of “rednecks bad,” “old white politicians can’t be trusted,” “greedy redneck idiots”—I mean, seriously. How stupid do you think criminals are? Rocket launchers to blow up ice cream trucks for fun? If they are supposedly in this for the money, don’t they understand that trucks and rockets are expensive? Then they play up the Latina girl having traditional roots and a deep history… that is poorly understood by me, at least. I wish they played up the familial bonds that made her stronger, the language skills that made her more capable, or even basic “homestyle” skills that proved useful from her upbringing, but instead, it seemed very forced.

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At the end of the day, it really wasn’t a great movie.

I really wanted to enjoy it. I really wish I could recommend it. Honestly, though, I just can’t.

Yes, it is a top movie on Netflix right now. I guess that is proof that people are desperate enough to try anything if it has an actor or actress they know and love in it.

Yes, it also has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 20%, meaning others thought it was just as bad as I did.

Watch it if you must, but know that from this reviewer, it just doesn’t get a very high rating. I’d pretty much find anything else to watch.

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