Jessica Alba Is Fierce in Netflix Conspiracy Thriller

Summary

• Jessica Alba is the real deal as an action star, dominating great fight sequences in
  Trigger Warning
  and making her character, Parker, instantly likable.
• Anthony Michael Hall impresses as a powerful senator, oozing sleaze and making a strong villain. Mark Webber is great as well, though some supporting performances are pretty thin.
• Trigger Warning
  has weak subplots, an overbearing score, and often feels more like a TV show than a movie.

There are movies where you sit and wait for certain iconic scenes simply because you know they’re coming, and they’re worth the wait — even if they’re few and far between. The movie may not be a masterpiece, but it has at least one of those “wait for it” scenes that you anticipate with glee, awaiting a joke, a death, or a twist. Or in the case of Trigger Warning, an action scene or two.

The film is a by-the-numbers Netflix offering starring none other than Fantastic Four alum Jessica Alba in fine form. Directed by Mouly Surya (Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts), this action thriller could probably be consumed while hovering over a spread of pizza and beverages with your pals, but then everyone might go quiet for those incredible hand-to-hand fight scenes that remind us of just how physically talented Alba is as an action heroine. More of that, and Trigger Warning would have been a sure-fire home run.

Jessica Alba: A Better Parker

Trigger Warning (2024)

3/5

Special Forces commando Parker (Jessica Alba) is on active duty overseas when she gets called back to her hometown with the tragic news that her father has suddenly died. Now the owner of the family bar, Parker reconnects with her former boyfriend-turned-sheriff Jesse (Mark Webber), his hot-tempered brother Elvis (Jake Weary) and their powerful father Senator Swann (Anthony Michael Hall), as she looks to understand what actually happened to her dad.

Release Date June 21, 2024

Director Mouly Surya

Runtime 1h 26m

Writers John Brancato , Josh Olson , Halley Wegryn Gross

Distributor(s) Netflix

Pros

• Jessica Alba is a true action star, and the fight sequences are fantastic.
• Mark Webber and Anthony Michael Hall reliably chew the scenery and are very fun.

Cons

• Trigger Warning feels too much like a network TV show than a movie.
• Weak subplots and supporting performances distract from the film.

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Action star Jason Statham once played the menacing titular lead in Parker (2013). A decade later, it’s Alba’s turn to play a protagonist by the same name, but she’s no thief. In fact, she’s a Special Forces commando who’s got nothing but the right path on her mind. A morally grounded protagonist, the grown-up — but still drop-dead gorgeous — Alba makes her Parker instantly likable, even when we quickly see her in gritty, military-esque operations with questionable end goals (as we’ve learned in real-world news over the years). And then, the A-plot kicks in, which isn’t exactly a spoiler if you know the logline or have seen at least one of the trailers: Parker’s dad has suddenly died in their hometown, so she returns home to seek answers.

Related: The Best Netflix Original Action Movies, Ranked

In terms of likability, there’s also household name Mark Webber along for the ride in Trigger Warning as Jesse, Parker’s old pal who still resides in their old Swann County community and whose dad (the utterly creepy Anthony Michael Hall) is now a powerful senator. Millennials will remember Webber from the classic kids’ movie Snow Day, and since then, he’s dabbled in similarly appealing roles, even playing the favorable skinhead in Jeremy Saulnier’s acclaimed thriller Green Room. Webber’s chemistry with Alba marks one of two high points in Trigger Warning, the other being Alba’s martial arts showcasing, but we’ll get to that.

It’s also a bit of hoot seeing veteran actor Hall sink his teeth into a MAGA-esque politician role like this, decades after playing the “Brain” in John Hughes classic The Breakfast Club, or other wildly different roles. His physically intimidating performance in Halloween Kills is a great pairing here, proving that this actor has transformed into a force to be reckoned with.

Related Best Jessica Alba Movies, Ranked

Jessica Alba was a force in Hollywood in the 2000s, starring in a variety of roles from light-hearted comedy to gritty drama.

Trigger Warning Has Excellent Action but Feels Like Network TV

In Trigger Warning, the most rewarding scenes are when Alba surprises us in several pulled-back medium shots, where certain villainous operatives are trying to usher her away from discovering various truths hidden in her hometown. Then, watch with delight as Alba pulls a fast one in these scenarios, using her fists and dropkicks to subdue the enemies before her. The choreography and Alba’s performance are fantastic, with filmmaker Mouly Surya letting the action do the heavy lifting rather than relying on an edited flurry of close shots like most action flicks.

Parker is getting herself in these sticky situations throughout the film because she’s just too darn set on the idea that it wasn’t her dad’s time to pass on. And she’s right. Serpico would have a field day uncovering the crooked nature of those around Parker, including Jesse’s own brother Elvis (Jake Weary). Everyone starts to seem shady as Parker gets help from her hacker pal, Spider (Tone Bell), and local dealer, Mike (Gabriel Basso), to infiltrate the drug operations that are fueling dough into the local economy.

Netflix

These conspiracy elements unfortunately make Trigger Warning ultimately feel like an extended episode of network television, rated TV-14 (maybe TV-MA in some scenarios), instead of glorious cinema. It almost feels like an extended pilot for a FOX TV series. The generic suspense background score throughout doesn’t help, and neither do the rather thin supporting performances. The film wastes too much time on certain B-stories that don’t have satisfying payoffs and should have instead leaned into those gritty, bone-crunching sequences, especially with a unique female lead like Alba running the show.

Trigger Warning is now streaming on Netflix. You can watch it through the link below:

Watch Trigger Warning

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