Filmmakers, I am begging you to stop making “lone gunman/shadowy assassin has to kill 300 people in a single night as they uncover who betrayed them” movies.
- The deluge of assassin movies continues apace. Of the recent ones which spring to mind (Ava; Gunpowder Milkshake; John Wick III; Extraction; Nobody; I’m forgetting at least two), Kate is near the top of the list because I’m a sucker for Japanese pop/rock/hip-hop and this soundtrack is loaded.
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead has this great sarcastic jock energy that she brings to most roles (really, everything other than Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)).
- The kid Ani (Miku Patricia Martineau) gave a great performance, even though it was a little too pat how quickly she joined Kate.
- Every time I see a famous old man in one of these direct-to-streaming action movies, I think about that piece on “Geezer Teasers” and I wonder how much money they made for what was likely two days of work. Woody Harrelson is Kate’s geezer, with extremely short scenes in a van, a high-rise apartment, in and just outside a car, and in another apartment. His total screen time is probably five minutes and he is second-billed.
- The movie is 106 minutes but moves at a good pace. I get bored and a little disgusted with the post-John Wick, post-Atomic Blonde, post-Raid: Redemption overly choreographed murder fights, but Kate at least utilizes interesting locations and props for the most part.
5 Thoughts on… is a quick dispatch on movies that might not otherwise be covered in our normal features.