Although Trigger Warning was 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 like Sin City or The Killer Inside Me, Alba has a handful of critical disappointments, like Into the Blue and The Love Guru. Unfortunately, Trigger Warning’s Rotten Tomatoes rating proves that Alba’s latest movie has kept this problem alive.

Acclaimed Indonesian director Mouly Surya directed Trigger 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 than Jessica Alba’s last action movie Killers 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 Tomatoes critical rating upon its release.

Machete Is The Better Jessica Alba Action Movie Over Trigger Warning

Trigger Warning Takes Itself Much More Seriously Than Machete

Fortunately, 2010’s Machete is a much better, more fun Jessica Alba action movie than the self-serious, predictable Trigger Warning. One of director Robert Rodriguez’s wilder movies, Machete starred 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-experiment Grindhouse, Machete is a madcap, cartoonish, and ultra-violent action spectacular. Machete brought 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. Unlike Trigger Warning, Machete never lends much weight to her choice, since the movie is wise enough to never take itself seriously. Machete was 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

Unlike Machete, Trigger Warning takes itself very seriously. Some variation on its painfully familiar plot has been seen in everything from Walking Tall to Death Wish 3 to The Substitute franchise, so it is tough to care about Parker’s predicament or fear for her fate as the plot plods on wearily. Most reviewers cited Trigger 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 the John Wick movies or a self-aware sense of humor to elevate proceedings, Trigger Warning inevitably did nothing to improve Jessica Alba’s critical standing.