I'm Seriously Annoyed By These 2 Moments In Trigger Warning's Ending

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Trigger Warning.

I found Trigger Warning to be a largely enjoyable movie, but it faltered near the end by including elements that didn’t make any sense. I love Jessica Alba, and I’ve seen her in some truly terrific movies, but this Netflix effort contributed to the platform’s group of what I would categorize as middle-of-the-road productions. Alba’s role as the leader of the Trigger Warning cast was one of the highlights for me, as she slots nicely into the action hero archetype. Unfortunately, I feel like Trigger Warning‘s ending didn’t quite stick the landing.

I didn’t have incredibly high hopes for Trigger Warning, despite the fact it was ranking at Netflix’s number 1 spot when I found it on the platform. I’ve got a great affinity for Netflix’s TV shows, but their movies often don’t draw me in all that much. Their formula of attaching a big name to a fairly mediocre script is something that I hoped would be broken by Trigger Warning. For the most part, I’m pleased to say that I enjoyed the ride. On the other hand, parts of the finale were underwhelming and poorly thought out.

Parker’s Friends Didn’t Need To Come With Her To The Military Depot In Trigger Warning’s Ending

Jessica Alba’s character would have been more effective on her own

Throughout Trigger Warning, Jessica Alba’s Parker proves herself to be an incredibly capable and highly-trained fighter. I liked that she was almost like a female John Wick, beating the odds and somehow finding a way to win despite being outnumbered. However, when she heads to the military depot to chase down Jesse, a small-town sheriff with no combat training, she takes no more than three of her friends with her to help. One of them is even an elderly friend of her late father.

The rest of the group is there for barely a minute before Parker has to create a distraction for them to escape. Once she slips away from the military personnel, Parker eventually does what she should have done all along and pursues Jesse alone. This entire sequence adds an unnecessary step to the plan, and it frustrated me that it had been included at all. Even injured, Parker proves she can take Jesse down. As such, she should have given the order to clear the mines while still underground instead of being in the middle of an active military facility.

Another Part Of Trigger Warning’s Ending Doesn’t Make Sense

The military announcement about Jesse’s grenade doesn’t quite add up

Weird story choices aside, I found the final exchange between Jesse and Parker to be very well done. Jesse’s frustration at having been driven to his criminal endeavors by being trapped in hometown life wasn’t something I expected him to voice, and it struck an emotional cord. What I didn’t find quite so immersive was that once the grenade detonated, the reaction from the military personnel was incredibly confusing.

After the explosion, an announcement rings out around the depot: “A security threat has been reported on base. All personnel must immediately evacuate to the nearest safe area and follow emergency protocols.” Now, I’m not an expert in military procedure, but it seems illogical to me that an explosion would take place in a military facility and the first order would be for everyone to run in the other direction. With so many weapons around, I would assume that a security sweep would be more likely.

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The moment feels to me like a lazy way of making sure no one is in the way to stop Parker as she exits the base unseen. If so, what’s even more confusing is the fact that Jessica Alba’s character is a Special Forces officer. Therefore, there is surely only so much trouble she could be in as a member of the U.S. military – especially when she explains why she’s there. The option taken by the writers to clear the area with an announcement felt much more inauthentic when compared with the alternative of Trigger Warning‘s protagonist simply explaining herself.

Trigger Warning (2024)

Director

Mouly Surya

Writers

John Brancato , Josh Olson , Halley Wegryn Gross

Cast

Jessica Alba , Mark Webber , Anthony Michael Hall , Alejandro De Hoyos , Tone Bell , Jake Weary , Gabriel Basso , Kaiwi Lyman

Runtime

86 Minutes