Kate

Japan is a land of contrasts, a place where ancient traditions coexist with the bustling energy of modern life. On one hand, there's the Japan of old, with its samurais, the Bushido code, and a shadowy underworld of the mafia. On the other, there's the vibrant, neon-lit Japan of today, brimming with anime and absorbing Western influences like a sponge. It's a cultural collision that can leave even the most seasoned traveler feeling like they've stumbled upon a sushi roll with a bit of everything thrown in. In this film, it feels like the director and screenwriter were among those foreigners, trying to cram every Japanese trope they'd ever heard of into one movie – and it didn't quite hit the mark. With borrowed elements from various action flicks such as Nikita, it struggled to find its own identity, leaving me skeptical from the get-go. Despite its shortcomings, I found myself oddly drawn to the film's often creative approach to violence. For maximum enjoyment, I recommend turning off your logic switch and embracing the chaos. / Lesson learned: Avoid touching anyone or anything affected by radiation! 3*- (05/04/2024)

The neon lights of Tokyo, Wick style action and the excellent Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who looks just like a young Ripley. The screenplay is nothing original, but quite entertaining. Netflix wants their own movie with an action girl, so they should have it. So what if countless similar movies have been released recently? Thanks to the Japanese culture and their opinion of the Gai-Jin in general, Kate is really watchable. Great music. Thumbs up from me. (09/10/2021)

In my opinion, an honest and entertaining action film that develops as you expect, but which can also surprise. The action scenes play a key role, they are varied and it did not get old to see all the possible ways in which Kate eliminates villains like in a video game. But what would be the point if I didn't care about the main character, which Mary Elizabeth Winstead portrayed fabulously? Add to that the unobtrusive neon atmosphere of night Tokyo and great music. I was, and after those few days, still am more than satisfied. (09/15/2021)

The miracle workers of 87North Productions have brought out another wonder of the mid-budget action genre. They repeat the tried-and-true formula of building the entire film on the foundation of casting and placing the lead actors at the core of the action sequences. But it simply works splendidly again. The trademark of 87Eleven choreographers and stuntmen is to incorporate pain and fatigue into the choreography of action sequences, but here they multiply the wear and tear of the material seen in Atomic Blonde. Whereas Charlize Theron was still a perfect killing machine in that film despite all of the bruises, Mary Elizabeth Winstead was brilliantly cast as the assassin with a short half-life in Kate. Her character thus fittingly makes far more mistakes in the fight scenes, catching one blow for every second one that she delivers, but she pursues her target with ever greater lethality. Every bruise, open wound, black eye and trace of blood on her exterior becomes a unit on the barometer of her “I'm going to die anyway” attitude. The individual action sequences put all of this to good use, thus bringing about an original effectiveness. At the same time, they take the best and most stylish aspects from the tradition of the Thai and Japanese schools of action movies and set design and combine them with the playful formalism of the western tradition. This female version of Crank is essentially completed with visual stylisation, where cinematographer Lyle Vincent and director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan create a form that, in its climactic moments, gives the impression of anime drawn with digital neon (with certain passages evoking Redline and Ghost in the Shell). All of this together makes Kate not only a magnificently captivating and infectiously exciting action flick with a damn cool action heroine, but also one of the highlights of the action genre in recent years. (10/04/2021)

Decent craftsmanship. It doesn't have the improvisation and disjointed rhythm of the best in the genre (The Raid, John Wick, Atomic Blonde), but there are a few solidly filmed set-pieces for the discerning action connoisseur. Thumbs up for having the most impressive action scene directed by a 70 year old grandpa with a samurai sword. The story is about nothing, but the neon lights and the unique atmosphere of Tokyo at night with the help of decent production design and cinematography does its job. Winstead is really good. (09/21/2021)