![]() ![]() And she certainly looks the part of the badass heroine, at least in slo-mo. Winstead’s no-nonsense aura serves her well as Kate, a strong, silent type whose only concession to whimsy is an obsession with a particular brand of soft drink. (No points for guessing whether they’ll form an unconvincing emotional bond over their respective tragic backstories.) She has roughly one day left to live, which she chooses to spend hunting down and enacting revenge on her killers - with unexpected assistance in the form of Ani (Miku Martineau), the teen daughter of one of Kate’s recent targets. The spoiler-free version is this: Kate is an elite American assassin operating in Tokyo, who wakes up after a botched job to discover she’s been poisoned. Umair Aleem’s script is so predictable that it’s possible to map out the entire final act based on the first two minutes of the movie and the plot synopsis. But Kate wears its influences like borrowed clothes, never quite managing to develop a style or voice that feels wholly its own. If its car chase feels too obviously CG even by the standards of a Fast & Furious movie, well, the vrooms and screeches still scratch a certain lizard-brain itch. If its bloody fistfights feel sluggish in comparison to the balletic grace of John Wick, well, there are worse action movies to crib from than John Wick. MIYAVI shines in that small role and Tadanobu Asano (last seen in Mortal Kombat) and Jun Kunimura deliver stoic performances as high ranking Yakuza.Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Miku Martineau, Woody HarrelsonĪll these familiar elements come together to form a movie that’s fitfully entertaining. Despite her attraction to the complexity of the role (from our interview with Winstead), outside the action she’s given little else to do apart from die slowly and get annoyed with Ani (Miku Patricia Martineau), a young girl who, wouldn’t you know it, is caught up in the same mess as Kate and may just reveal a softer side to the hired killer. Winstead is, as usual, great, especially with the action scenes, looking like an avenging Ellen Ripley with her green bomber jacket and short brown hair. Crossed Brow Killer Name this band! (Wrong answers only.) This problem is made worse later when they outline their role in the whole dirty affair directly in front of someone they are supposed to be trying to win over to their side.Īlso, Kate rips off one of my favourite scenes from The Losers. It’s also pretty obvious to anyone who’s ever seen a movie, who is actually behind the plot to kill Kate, even if indirectly, the moment that character appears on screen. A later fight in a monochromatic restaurant seems like the perfect set up for some stylish redecoration with some arterial claret, but the result ends up slightly flat rather than striking. While director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and cinematographer Lyle Vincent should be applauded for capturing the aesthetic of Tokyo, it’s often too dark, or the camera moves too quickly, to make out just how cool a sequence was.Īn utterly unconvincing, and unnecessary, car chase through the CGI streets of Tokyo sets a poor expectation early on, adding nothing to the story. There’s a standout fight scene in a kitchen with MIYAVI, which unfortunately only highlights some of the weaknesses of the others. Kate repeatedly deals with jammed weapons, something you might expect, every now and then, considering the sheer number of bullets pumped throughout the film. The action is pretty great, and Winstead immerses herself into the fight choreography, with some nice attention to detail thrown in. That’s not to say Kate is in any way bad per se. Boom Boom Lemon Why doesn’t the whole movie look like this? It’s not a major issue, but it’s an example of the kind of missteps and missed opportunities throughout the film. Perhaps in reaction to this, Kate shows off the same trick later on, even though she has more than enough time to reload properly. The flickering of a damaged overhead light obscured the coolest part of the action. At least that’s what I think happened after rewatching the scene a couple of times. With her opponent in the same situation, frantically reloading in front of her, and with a full magazine in her off hand, she quickly pops a single bullet from the magazine right into the chamber, before popping into her assailant. In the midst of a tense shootout, Kate’s finds herself out of ammo. There’s a scene near Kate’s climax which illustrates the kinds of problems I had with the film. ![]()
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