'The Marked Woman' Netflix Review: 'Taken' Meets 'The Bourne Identity' In Spanish Thriller

The Marked Woman feels like a mishmash of elements from The Bourne Identity and Taken, minus the emotional heft or narrative momentum. When Taken and The Bourne Identity gained popularity, we got a ton of copycats. To be fair, and as evident from the existence of this movie, we continue to get action thrillers that have a gimmick like amnesia or the unearthing of a human trafficking nexus. And most of these entries, including the sequels to the aforementioned titles, assumed that the main reason why those movies worked was because of its action. Not the characterwork, not the political commentary, not even the visual storytelling, but the action; that’s what the folks want. Now, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy some of those copycats or the sequels. But, at the end of the day, even those that I liked, got eclipsed by the originals. At first glance, it did seem like The Marked Woman was gonna echo all the good aspects of Taken and The Bourne Identity and not commit all the mistakes that their copycats and sequels had made. However, with each passing second, it became abundantly clear that in an attempt to set itself apart from those Hollywood films, Gabe Ibanez had cooked up a good old nothingburger. Is it still worth a watch? Let’s see.

Gabe Ibanez’s The Marked Woman, which has been adapted from Rosa Montero and Olivier Truc’s novel of the same name by Lara Sendim, kicks things off with a woman named Lucia reluctantly making a tape where she accuses a police officer, Zarate, from Algeciras of extortion and other unlawful activities. After that’s done, a man takes her to the bus stand to be transported to Barcelona. Before the journey begins, she excuses herself and goes to the washroom. In there, Lucia covertly talks to a woman, tells her that she’s going to Barcelona, and gives her a piece of paper. Then the narrative shifts forward in time by 3 months and the woman that Lucia was talking to is found chained inside a shipping container in Barcelona with no memory of how she got there and who she is. Barcelona-based officer Ripoll is assigned to her case and her initial reading of the woman, whose name is revealed to be Alicia, turns out to be inconclusive. But Ripoll thinks that whoever had captured Alicia is gonna attack her and that she needs security. Nobody listens to Ripoll because she is “not in her prime” and she has been “out of the game” for a while. However, what she predicts comes to pass and it’s only due to Alicia’s hidden skills that she survives. Soon after that incident, Zarate is assigned to the case and he’s ordered to take Alicia and Ripoll to a safe house. That’s where it’s revealed that Lucia is actually Zarate’s snitch who has been forced to falsely accuse him of corruption and Alicia isn’t actually Alicia, she’s Clara, Lucia’s sister. Now, why did Clara find herself in that shipping container and why does someone want to kill her? The answer to those questions is what forms the crux of the narrative.

I guess after reading that synopsis, the Taken and The Bourne Identity comparisons don’t seem unwarranted. Now, the unfortunate issue with mixing the main tropes of those 2 movies is that it dilutes the emotional stakes of the film. Yes, Clara’s sister is missing and she should be looking for her. Since her memory is shot, we must worry about what’s going to happen to Lucia by the time Clara starts remembering again. But since the writers put so much focus on figuring out Clara’s identity that they don’t include Lucia after those first few minutes. On top of that, the “Alicia is Clara” reveal happens at the 40-minute mark (there’s an extremely subtle reveal about their sisterhood in the beginning but you won’t notice it if you don’t know what you are looking for). So, until then, you don’t feel any sense of urgency because you don’t know why you should care if Clara gets her memory back. Even if you do, the focus doesn’t remain on saving Lucia because then the story becomes more about what else Clara is supposed to remember. I think the writers realized midway that they are never gonna give Clara the emotional payoff that she deserves. So, they tacked on a sob story for Ripoll which takes up so much space while being so vague that you can’t help but be frustrated by it. I’m all for the disgruntled, depressed police officer trope but there has to be some depth to it to make me follow the character’s journey. Theme-wise, the movie tries to talk about human trafficking and corruption in the police, but it’s too tepid to make an impact.

Even though The Marked Woman falters narratively, I thought that the visuals in the film were pretty good. The framing during the moments of stillness and calm do a great job of accentuating the characters’ feelings of isolation and depression. There are a lot of cross dissolves throughout the movie and as a fan of that kinda transition, I couldn’t help but appreciate it. In this case, it’s supposed to communicate the tiring nature of this whole investigation and even though it doesn’t necessarily have the desired effect, I welcome it because it’s better than cutting between scenes in a straightforward way. That said, all the cinematography and editing goes for a toss during the action sequences. In the 2000s, when Taken and The Bourne Identity came out, the choppy editing felt new and fresh. But that hasn’t exactly aged really well, especially after the success of Indonesian action films like The Raid and American action films like John Wick. So, the decision to harken back to that 2000s style of action storytelling in 2026 is definitely bewildering. You can see the work that’s gone into securing those locations, training the actors, and prepping the stunts. But you are prevented from properly appreciating it because of the quick cuts between frames which are not composed to keep your eye on the action. The performances from the actors are fine. Ana Rujas, Candela Pena, and Pol Lopez are talented actors but with a weak screenplay like that, what can they really do? Which brings us back to the question: is it worth a watch? Nope. Just go and watch Taken, The Bourne Identity, or both instead of wasting your time on this.