by Adam Ritchie, Contributing Writer
Set in the underworld of the Japanese Yakuza, Kate is yet another entry into the ever-growing female assassin genre. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Woody Harrelson, Kate has only 24 hours to seek vengeance on the head boss of the crime family that have poisoned her, leading to her death.
We are introduced to Kate sitting high, lining up a hit on a Yakuza boss. A female voice is providing instructions in her ear, and as the hit exits the car, his daughter follows beside him. Demonstrating that our protagonist has a conscience and is not merely a killer for hire, Kate asks for confirmation several times before taking the shot. You see, it is not “polite” to expose children to these types of events. The voice in her ear demands the shot be taken, and Kateultimately does as she is told. This plays on herconscience, and she tells her “supervisor” Varrick (Harrelson) that she wants out after the next job to lead a normal life.
The hit leads to Kate being poisoned with radiation, promising what will only be a slow and painful death over the next 24 hours. Being the badass assassin that she is, Kate breaks her way out of hospital and onto several quests to find the person responsible for what will be her death. Along the way, she manages to use the child (Ani) from her initial hit as bait, only to see this ploy backfire as it is apparent the “family” Ani (Miku Patricia Martineau) belongs to has no need for her. Kate saves her life just in time, and Ani tags along for the rest of the ride.
As you can see, the main plot points are indeed trope and cliché-laden. I saw a lot of Leon: The Professional within Kate, even down to a line delivery from Harrelson later in the movie. If you know what Gary Oldman line I am referring to, then keep an eye out. But fair warning: it isn’t nearly as great.
For me, Kate feels like a video game, looks like an Anime/Manga/graphic novel hybrid. It has a ton of style and looks great for the most part, but the aesthetic does get a little distorted in places. The action sequences are decent, if not entirely new and inventive, and it has some twists that I am sure most will see coming a mile out.
Winstead is very good (as you would expect), but is sadly the only real highlight as she carries the film entirely on her own back. Martineau is decent as Ani, but I found her character frustrating at times, and Harrelson is relatively stock standard in his role. Ultimately, Kate fails to deliver anything ground-breaking in any sense of the word. In saying that, I still found it wasn’t a completely terrible way to spend 90 minutes and there is still a bit of mindless well-trodden fun to be had.
Grade: C+
You can follow Adam Ritchie on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd