Netflix revenge action movie hits too many familiar notes

The new action-packed revenge movie from Netflix is ​​here. Kate follows an assassin on her final mission through Tokyo and takes on practically the entire yakuza.

For fans of revenge and martial arts films, Kate will definitely have some pull, but for anyone looking for a fresh addition to the genre, it will likely disappoint.

You can predict where the film is going from the get-go, and despite some formidable battle choreographers and a tight pace, we’re reaching a saturation point with this type of cinema. John Wick and Birds of Prey have set the bar high in recent years, and while Kate plays at their ballpark, she’s not keeping up.

Kate premieres on Netflix on Friday, September 10th.

Kate has a wonderfully simple setup. Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an elite assassin working in Tokyo, is poisoned. She has about a day left and no way of stopping the poison from affecting her body.

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Instead of accepting her doctor’s offer to make her comfortable until the end, she does what any good hit man with no human attachments would do. She uses the little time she has to chase after the people who did this to her.

Of course, all of this is made more difficult by the fact that it is not at all clear who did this to her or why. Adding in the teen daughter of her latest hit creates a fun mess while she protects the girl while she stays on a mission.

So far, so good! This is the kind of bare bones that allows for sharp storytelling that focuses on action and character over other plot points.

Cycles of violence

But Kate never fully lives up to her generic potential.

It undoubtedly has some interesting things to say. At its core, Kate explores cycles of violence in which entire underworlds are built on endless rivalries, where new generations build on the death and destruction that preceded them.

All of this is in recognition of the way American colonialism is responsible for much of this violence, along with an attempt to atone within the film. But still the unsavory look of a white woman killing hordes of nameless Japanese enemies is not entirely eliminated.

The backlash against another actor who recently killed a white woman, Peppermint, didn’t seem to have much of an impact on the people behind Kate.

An eleven-hour attempt to denounce Americans’ cultural hegemony abroad is undermined in a film that seems to bask in its own shallow love of Japanese pop culture and aesthetics for most of its runtime without targeting its Japanese characters too much do.

Kate Review: The Verdict

The biggest downside to Kate is that it feels like I’ve seen this movie before. And not just once or twice. I’ve seen it many times.

Netflix was only accused of factory farming because of the cold numbers of its algorithm. And Kate doesn’t do much to dispel that impression.

It’s action cinema by the numbers. It plays the hits without a doubt, but with no innovation or fun new angles.

Kate is a little bit John Wick, a little bit Nikita, a little bit Crank, a little bit Gunpowder Milkshake and a little bit Birds of Prey. Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s excellence in the latter might as well have been her audition for this similar, if far less rewarding, role.

When you want to shut your brains off and enjoy some well-executed action scenes – and who doesn’t, at least sometimes? – Kate is sure to be an easy choice. After all, there’s a reason people repeat the hits.

You can try out Kate on Netflix on September 10th.