The life of an assassin is lonely at times. It is a profession where there’s no need to make any decisions. Who’s to die, when, and where, it’s all been planned. Which is one of the reasons why assassins crave a normal life, why they need some space of their own to feel that they are also human. However, leaving that life is never easy, especially when you live by a certain set of rules. When you’re put in a position where you have to break the rules, things get out of control.
The titular Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is an elite assassin working in Japan with her handler, Varrick (Woody Harrelson). She has only one rule: never eliminate children. But she is put in a position where she has to kill her target, a member of the yakuza in front of his teenage daughter, which makes her think about her life and ultimately decide to retire. Leaving this profession, though, is not that easy. Varrick sends her to a final assignment, which she uncharacteristically blows, and quickly discovers that she’s been poisoned. With less than 24 hours remaining, Kate sets out to exact revenge on her killers by forming an unlikely bond with Ani (Miku Martineau), the teenage daughter of one of her past victims.
While it starts as a promising movie, Kate steadily deteriorates with every frame. The story itself doesn’t have much meat on its bones to be engaged with. It is familiar, with a predictable plot and twist which you can guess within the first two minutes. Even the action sequences are hit and miss, mostly because of how little you care about the character’s journey. Writer Umair Aleem tries to tell the story of Kate’s past with flashbacks that are sprinkled in now and again, but they don’t add enough to her character for the audience to become emotionally invested in her.
Setting the story in Japan just for the visual aesthetic was a poor choice, as there is nothing new that makes you say WOW! Another worrisome thing is the use of the yakuza as a villainous organization. Though it might be true in reality, it is the lack of research from the filmmakers that leaves you wondering what it is that really makes them the bad guy. There is nothing offered in the story to create enough conflict for anyone to poison Kate, causing her to spend her last hours exacting revenge on those people.
Since the release of John Wick, we have seen an abundance of assassin stories with both male and female leads. Very few have made the mark like Nobody and Atomic Blonde, which were made from the same creators. The recycling of the plot is not helping these movies. Kate also shares some of the same beats and as the recent Netflix release Gunpowder Milkshake, which was also a disappointment and had the same structural issues. Hollywood’s habit of fixating on trends and spitting out similarly themed movies until the genre is utterly destroyed is the reason why these movies don’t make much impact. They only give the genre a bad name.
Kate is led by Winstead, who carries the whole movie on her shoulders, but the lack of depth in the character pulls her down. It leaves nothing to be cheered for. Supporting Winstead’s Kate is Harrelson who plays her handler, mentor, and best friend, only to be wasted with limited screen time, and Martineau, whose presence is just there to fill in the blanks to bring out the human in Kate.
Japan has a rich storytelling culture that could’ve been used to create an interesting character and formidable villain. Instead, the makers only use Japan as a neon filter for lighting and a few pretty colors. They had an opportunity here to create a thrilling ride, given how the lead character only has a day to live. Not only do they miss, but they leave Kate a staggering mess that leaves you scratching your head as to why you even hit play.
