Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Kate, an assassin on the verge of retiring. Before she can even pull the trigger on her last job, she starts coughing up blood and wheezing like she’s got the ‘rona. Turns out somebody poisoned her, and she only has a day or so to live. Kate then spends her remaining hours hunting down the son of a bitch who slipped her the Mickey.
Kate is pretty standard stuff. It’s mostly a collection of cliches redressed and repurposed. Not only is it a One Last Job movie, it’s a Yakuza flick, a Grizzled Mentor film (with Woody Harrelson as the grizzled mentor), a Solve Your Own Murder mystery (you know, the whole D.O.A. thing), an Assassin Befriending a Young Girl drama (like The Professional), and an If Your Grizzled Mentor is Played by Woody Harrelson, Chances are He Will Double-Cross You picture (like Solo: A Star Wars Story). None of this would’ve really mattered if we cared about the character, but we never really learn what makes Kate tick, other than the cliched “I’m a coldblooded assassin, but I won’t kill kids” angle.
Nor would it have mattered if the action was crisp. While the shootouts, hand-to-hand, and weapon fights are a hair better than most modern-day actioners, they don’t exactly knock your socks off or anything. There are one or two good moments sprinkled about (like the fight in a cramped alleyway), but most of the time, the camera placement is less than optimal and the choreography leaves something to be desired.
I like Winstead a lot but having her play a character whose main trait is to be sickly didn’t do her any favors. I think she can be a tough and likeable action heroine. It’s just that she needs to pick a better vehicle for her talents. Harrelson has some good moments with her early on. Whenever he’s on screen, the movie fitfully comes to life. The rest of the time, Kate is a competent, albeit uninvolving revenge flick.
No comments:
Post a Comment