Kate

Kate
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Kate is an incredibly violent, bloody, and brutal action film with strong language throughout. Not for kids, this thriller finds an assassin racing to find out who and why she has been poisoned. Mowing down anyone who gets in her way, Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) eventually runs into a girl who significantly affected the course of Kate's recent life. Expect lots of bloody violence, gunfights, point-blank shots to the head, gunshot wounds, holes in bodies, stabbings, knives going into faces, necks being slit, fingers getting sliced off, hand-to-hand combat, and a decapitation. A woman gets drugged, a girl gets chained to a toilet, and a woman gets into a terrible car crash. There's a brief sex scene without nudity, and another brief scene shows men in their underwear at a bath house. Adults smoke cigarettes stylishly and drink alcoholic beverages. A woman gets drugged and lethally poisoned. Strong language throughout includes "f--k," "f--king," "motherf-----r," "s--t," "bitch," "whore," "ass," and "damn." The film has some stereotypical representations and depictions of Asian people.
Community Reviews
Loved this movie!
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Cursing doesn’t look good on the girl.
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What's the Story?
In KATE, a brutally efficient assassin (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) finds herself poisoned and with only 24 hours to live. She must find out who did this to her and why. With help from her mentor and handler, Varrick (Woody Harrelson), Kate just might be able to save herself. But when an innocent teenage girl gets caught up in the mix, will Kate have time to save her, too?
Is It Any Good?
The violence on display is brutal, creative, and intense, but lots of it might be too much for some viewers. Beyond the violence, however, Kate isn't great. For one, Kate's backstory is thin and simply not enough for the audience to get invested in her or her story. Unfortunately, this means that for each wound, every flinch of pain, and all the times Kate suffers, many viewers might not care. And the problem is that the audience needs to care about Kate saving herself, not dying of poison, and finding redemption.
Further, Kate's relationship with Varrick isn't established or built well, and their dynamic or chemistry is incredibly flat. Varrick, a kind of father/mentor figure to Kate, claims at one point that Kate is the only person in the world he has ever loved. But this is never evident in their interactions, in any flashbacks, or in dialogue. Lastly, many viewers might find the story and general idea of Kate to be racist, as the story is another White savior construction that also features a White person murdering hundreds of Asian people. Additionally, it repeats many stereotypes about Asian and Japanese people specifically.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in action and thriller movies. Was the violence in Kate over-the-top, just right, or not extreme enough? Why?
How do you think this movie, including the characters, plot, and action, compares to other action movies of similar ilk?
Not that it has to, but what do you think this film would've looked like if it featured an entirely Asian and/or Asian American cast? Would this alone fix the "White savior" problem? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: September 10, 2021
- Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Woody Harrelson, Miku Patricia Martineau, Tadanobu Asano
- Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Run time: 106 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: Strong bloody violence and language throughout
- Last updated: February 28, 2022
Our Editors Recommend
For kids who love thrills and action
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