Kate

Kate (2021)

Runtime: 106 minutes

Directed by: Cedric Nicolan-Troyan

Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Miku Martineau, Tadanobu Asano, Jun Kunimura, Woody Harrelson

From: Netflix

After a rare but needed night off from watching film, last night I returned to that world by checking out something that easily could have been Netflix gruel yet the idea was to see more Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Even now, hardly anything’s been seen from her; I’m not interested in The Farting Corpse Movie given my loathing of Everything Everywhere All at Once & Scott Pilgrim has always seem equally as repellant to my tastes. One day I’ll get to 10 Cloverfield Lane but my desire for an action flick, the basic plot description, the Japan setting, and Woody Harrelson (his political leanings aside) intrigued.

Yes, Kate is rather improbable, predictable, and quite silly. That doesn’t mean I was not entertained by the film. Kate-the lady-is a badass, mentored since childhood by Harrelson’s Varrick… presumably a nod to the quality 70’s film Charley Varrick. She wants to retire, and that goes exactly as well as that proclamation does in films… she is poisoned and looking for revenge during a very long night in Tokyo.

As flawed as the movie can be, several aspects are assets. The Japan setting was neat-Tokyo at night will always be exotic to my eyes. The cast is fine, including the Japanese talent-some of whom I of course instantly recognized; even newcomer Miku Martineau was not bad… although Winstead was of course the highlight and pulled off this vulnerable badass character. The action was from 87North Productions; the John Wick-flavored house style hasn’t grown tiresome with me quite yet. Those action beats were fun-a further asset in my enjoyment of the film.

The other half of the Spiderman pointing meme (of course, I’m referring to Gunpowder Milkshake) stands a stronger chance of rubbing me the wrong way-don’t expect a review from me, even to compare the two. I was thankful that Kate wasn’t a waste of time and did not turn me off—even if I wish there would have been less of the “overly explanatory moments” that I should refer to as “Netflix’s house style” no matter who makes their original movies.