[3] The film stars Gina Rodriguez, Ismael Cruz Córdova, and Anthony Mackie, and follows a woman who trains to take down a Mexican drug cartel after her friend is kidnapped.

[4][5] While Rodriguez's performance received some praise, critics compared the film unfavorably to the original, saying it suffered from "bland action and predictable story beats".

Gloria and Suzu plan to enter the upcoming "Miss Baja California" beauty pageant, and hope to improve their chances by impressing the influential municipal police chief Rafael Saucedo at a nightclub.

She secretly meets Drug Enforcement Administration agent Brian Reich and agrees to become an informant in exchange for not being prosecuted for the crime.

Gloria accompanies Lino to an exchange of money and drugs for weapons with Jimmy, an American illegal arms dealer.

Gloria agrees and, as part of the plan, wins the Miss Baja pageant when Lino bribes the judges, securing her an invitation to an after-party hosted by Saucedo.

Gloria then holds Lino at gunpoint, telling him she knows the truth about Suzu and the prostitution racket, and shoots him dead when he tries to pull a gun on her.

Gloria is taken to an interrogation room where she is met by Jimmy, who reveals himself to be an undercover Central Intelligence Agency operative tasked with dismantling Mexican cartels involved in international crime.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Miss Bala suggests Gina Rodriguez has a future as an action hero; unfortunately, it also demonstrates how hard it is to balance set pieces against a compelling story.