Kate: Grit, Neon, and Heart

By: Miller Wilkinson

Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kate is on its surface a by the numbers action revenge movie. The basic premise is Kate is an assassin who is poisoned, so she sets off on an adrenaline injection and rage filled revenge filled mission to kill the people responsible before she is out of time. Sounds like a cross between John Wick, Atomic Blond, and Crank right? It is and it is not. While containing elements of these films, Kate separates itself with its very grounded and gritty action while still having a strong emotional arc between Kate and her teenage accomplice Ani.

The strongest aspect of Kate is undeniably the fight choreography. Ever since John Wick came out in 2014, every action movie has been trying to replicate the realistic style and gunplay that Keanu Reeves brought to the table. One of the biggest culprits of this is Atomic Blond, staring Charlize Theron, which was hailed as the most badass female protagonist action movie. Ignoring other better tough female protagonists came before her: Ripley, Mulan, Sarah Conner, Princess Leia, etc. But it falls short in that some of the fight sequences are improbable or unrealistic. Now take that with a grain of salt, all movies are unrealistic, but when the protagonist kills a man with an empty stiletto shoe with no room to build up a swing or launches a man with a standing kick when weighs twice as much is hard to believe. In no way take this woman cannot be strong and beat up men bigger than them, but they way it is done in Atomic Blond is not believable. Kate takes the foundation of big blockbuster action from Atomic Blond and makes the action more grounded. Without getting too graphic, the combat is realistic. The fight sequences have their share of cool holds and spin tricks, but many times they feel like Winstead is fighting for her life, pulling every dirty trick and improvised weapon available, especially as the film progresses and she becomes weaker due to her poisoning. In the knife fights, her assailants don’t just die after one stab, which is how it really works in real life. If you watch real violent encounters between police or gang members caught on film, people can be stabbed in major areas and stay in the fight for thirty seconds even to a minute. The same applies to the gunshots, so far as Kate survives a gunshot to the face. The action is hands down the highlight of this film.

The other aspect that smacks the viewer across the face is the setting. Set in Tokyo, the environment is as much a character as Kate, Kijima, or Ani. The neon pop world is simultaneously bright but also dark. It is so interesting seeing the protagonist navigate this world. It is also nice that the film does not fall into the trap of Ani explaining to Kate. Kate has lived in Japan for a long time, she knows how the world here works and speaks near fluent Japanese. Though it could have easily been played for laughs, it was probably smart the writers did not go that route. Along with the environment is the music, both diegetic and nondiegetic.

One of the criticisms that other reviews have stated is that the narrative arc is predictable, and they find caring about Kate, the character, hard. Admittedly, this is a fairly by the numbers revenge action film. However, how many original action movies are there now a days? Especially with a Netflix budget that probably to Woody Harrelson and the sets mostly. In a genre that seems to be at least twenty percent Die Hard reskins, the bigger question needs to be is it enjoyable and are the performances, both actors and action, good. As far as having a hard time connecting with Kate, the film seems to want the viewer to be sympathetic to Kate, but more connect with Ani. You live an interesting life if you can easily connect with a contract killer who was raised by a murderous crime boss. Ani, on the other hand is a teenager who lost her parents and feels abandoned. Ani serves as the emotion door for the viewer to see Kate as Ani does.

The acting across the board was well done. Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s deadpan sarcastic nature, which she is most known for from Scott Pilgrim, fits perfectly in this role. Woody Harrelson is not on screen too much but is good when he is, but it’s Woody Harrelson, of course he is going to be good. The breakout star was definitely Miku Martineau as Ani. Her monologue and emotional breakdown in the second act disaster were very well done. She was funny and charismatic the entire time and offset Winstead’s serious nature very well. The rest of the supporting cast was good but not very memorable.

While it will probably not win any Academy Awards, Kate is a great action film with gritty action and a great atmosphere. If you have Netflix definitely check it out, it is an hour and a half of enjoyment, unless you are squeamish to blood.