Netflix revenge action movie hits too many familiar notes

Netflix’s new action-packed revenge movie is here. Kate followed the assassin to perform her last mission across Tokyo, almost assuming the entire gang.

For fans of revenge movies and martial arts movies, Kate will definitely have some appeal, but for anyone looking for new works in the genre, it may be disappointing.

You can predict the direction of this movie from the beginning, and despite some impressive battle choreography and tight rhythm, we are reaching the saturation point of this kind of movie. In recent years, John Wick and Birds of Prey have set high standards, and when Kate played on their court, it did not keep up.

Kate will premiere on Netflix on Friday, September 10.

Kate has a very simple setup. The elite assassin Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who worked in Tokyo was poisoned. She has about one day to live, and there is no way to stop the poison’s effect on her body.

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She didn’t accept the doctor’s proposal to keep her comfortable at the last moment, but did what a good contract killer without human attachment would do. She spent very little time hunting down those who did this to her.

Of course, all of this becomes complicated because it is not at all clear who did this to her or why. Throw in her teenage daughter who was the last hit, and you will encounter some interesting chaos when she protects the girl while performing tasks.

So far so good! This is a simple setup that allows sharp storytelling that focuses on action and characters instead of other plot points.

Cycle of violence

But Kate never fully realized its universal potential.

There is no doubt that it has some interesting things to say. In essence, Kate explores the cycle of violence, the entire underworld is built on endless competition, and the new generation is built on death and destruction in front of them.

In all this, admit that American colonialism bears most of the responsibility for this violent behavior, and try to atone for it in the movie. However, the annoying visual effect of a white woman killing a large number of unknown Japanese enemies has not been completely eliminated.

this Strongly opposed The fight against Peppermint, another white female actor who recently killed people of color, does not seem to have much impact on the people behind Kate.

An attempt to condemn Americans’ cultural hegemony overseas was undermined in the 11th hour. For most of the time, the film seemed to be immersed in a superficial love for Japanese pop culture and aesthetics, without letting the Japanese characters go far. Exceed the goal.

Kate comments: verdict

Kate’s biggest drawback is that I feel that I have watched this movie before. And not just once or twice. I have seen many.

Netflix is ​​accused of only producing factory content based on cold data from its algorithms. And Kate didn’t do much to dispel this impression.

This is an action movie calculated by numbers. There is no doubt that it is playing hit songs, but there are no innovative or interesting new angles.

Kate is a bit A little bit Nikita a little bit crank, a little bit Gunpowder Milkshake,One more thing Raptor. Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s outstanding performance in the latter may also be her audition for this similar role, but the reward is much less.

If you want to turn off your brain and enjoy some elaborate action scenes-who doesn’t want, at least sometimes? ——Kate is of course an easy choice. After all, people replay popular songs for a reason.

You can check Kate on Netflix on September 10.