2021 must be the year of female assassins and I am okay with that, especially in movies. . Another female assassin-centric movie comes to Netflix this week starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The movie is called Kate. Well, it may not necessarily be the same high-octane action movie that Gunpowder Milkshake is, Kate definitely has its moments and will keep you on the edge of your seat. The best way I can describe this movie is, it is a crossover between The Replacement Killers and Crank. If you only had one day to live after a botched assassination attempt, what would you do, especially if you could choose to rescue an innocent girl or let her die? I will first say this, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is excellent as a female assassin and action roles definitely suit her. She was really good in Gemini Man even if that movie wasn’t really that good.  She’s even better in Kate. However, as much as you might enjoy this movie, it also feels very familiar. Yes, I feel like I’ve seen it before, but the action is great.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a female assassin who was trained since she was little girl by her handler after she was orphaned. The story really takes off after a botched assassination attempt where she doesn’t want to kill an innocent girl and then later is poisoned where she has no chance to live and now, we’re off to the races. She must find who did this to her and finish the job while getting the perfect revenge or justice, however, you want to look at it. It may be a simple theme and that’s okay because I don’t think you will watch this movie as if you’re watching Meryl Streep in Sophie’s choice. Although, as much of an action film as it is there are some emotional tones where the main character is forced to reconcile her own past and realize that her choices were taken away by her handler, the man that she thought was her friend and a father figure to her played by Woody Harrelson. Like all good assassin movies, nothing is exactly what it seems and there are some great moments with her character and the man that she is supposed to kill as she’s reconciling her life, her choices, and coming to terms with her impending death. I think the film is better with these emotional elements and it makes it more than just an action film where her character is hunting down all the bad guys like she’s some female version of The Punisher. The filmmakers could have very easily made this just a pure action film like she’s The punisher and you can enjoy the film just for that, but adding some depth to the characters and this emotional weight to the assassin who’s trying to put things right makes it a better movie.

The action is very good and Mary Elizabeth Winstead is great in the action role, you can even say that this is the Tokyo version of atomic blonde, although I will always say that Charlize Theron is just a little bit better. But as good as the action is and all the fight scenes, there are some things that make this film less than stellar. I like Woody Harrelson, he’s pretty much good at anything he does, but I feel like his character could have been played by anyone because we don’t know much about his backstory. Maybe we’re not meant to know because his character is not that important except as a character, someone who doesn’t really care and is always looking for his next protege. He’s trying to be the handler much like Gabriel Byrne was in the point of no return with Bridget Fonda, but if you remember that movie then there was an emotional weight with his character because he loved and let her slip away in the end whereas Woody Harrelson’s character just doesn’t seem to care. It’s a wasted character. Sometimes a film  with too much action takes away from the emotion that the audience is supposed to feel towards the characters. I can also say the same thing about the lover that Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character finds it ends up poisoning her. Anybody, could have played that character because of such a minor role and yet you put a familiar face into that role played by
Michiel Huisman from Game of thrones. Again, this is a case where you could have a little bit more backstory and show what his true connection is to the people who are trying to kill the main character. I just feel like when it comes to the choices and editing, they focused too much on the action because it’s an assassin film and didn’t pay enough attention to the backstory of some of the characters that render them unimportant when perhaps they shouldn’t be.

What really does make this film enjoyable is the strange mother like figure that Mary Elizabeth Winston’s character plays when rescuing a girl who’s cast aside by her own family,  someone she should have killed, but had a heart on some level so she saves the girl’s life instead. The scenes with them are good. The girl is hilarious as a typical teenager who’s addicted to technology and social media and wants to document how “badass” the assassin is. The begrudging attitude by Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character is comical and heartwarming, which makes you feel for both characters.  And that’s the thing about any film, an audience can’t truly enjoy the film, unless we feel some connection to the characters. Even though this film seems very familiar, what makes it good and worth watching is Mary Elizabeth Winstead, she plays a great assassin and is fantastic in the action role. The fight scenes are incredible and gorgeously choreographed. Having an Asian City filled with lights and a darker tone makes it the perfect setting. I almost felt like I was playing Cyberpunk 2077 and my character is the assassin from the movie, which I love.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead is what makes this movie work and she is a delight to watch, She adds an emotional depth to her character that makes us feel for her as she’s dying even though she is technically a villain.  It’s easy to root for her in the end and feel sad about how it’s all going to end. There’s a lot of action movies that you’ll quickly forget after you’ve seen it once, but not Kate, sure it has its problems as a film. However, it’s definitely worth watching and not just once. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and the Asian cast is great and it is certainly one of the better films on Netflix.