Kite (2014)
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AUDIENCE SCORE
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Kite Videos & Photos
Movie Info
A young woman, Sawa, is orphaned following the murder of her parents and is later taken off the streets by a crooked, Svengali-like detective who employs homeless children to do his dirty work. Trained as a killer, Sawa exacts street justice against the detective's chosen targets until she is able to break free of the abusive, manipulative control he has over her.
| Rating: | R (for strong bloody violence throughout, grisly images, drug and sexual content) |
| Genre: | Action & Adventure |
| Directed By: | Ralph Ziman |
| Written By: | Yasuomi Umetsu, Brian Cox |
| In Theaters: | Oct 10, 2014 Limited |
| On DVD: | Dec 2, 2014 |
| Runtime: |
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Cast
as Sawa
as Oburi
as Lt. Karl Aker
as Vic Thornhill
as Det. Prinsloo
as Mikhal Kratsov
as Clive Thornhill
as Sawa's Mother
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LoginCritic Reviews for Kite
All Critics (14) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (0) | Rotten (14)
Ziman struggles mightily to weave hot-girl assassin shtick, trendy exploitation style and future-shock grimness: The default setting seems to be whatever you've seen in a hundred other movies (and heard - the electronic score is pure digital Muzak).
Nasty for nastiness's sake, "Kite" drags to achieve its brief running time; you wonder whether the slow motion is an artistic device or a stalling tactic.
A kill-a-minute gore-a-thon whose twist is so obvious your grandma Edna will see it coming, "Kite" never gets off the ground.
Ziman pretends to be empowering his young heroine by putting a gun in her hand and tough words in her mouth. But there's something deeply discomforting about his camera's fetishistic leering.
In a film that pits the heroine directly against the sexualization of young women, the camera's gaze itself feels awfully exploitative.
Bloodthirsty young women are no longer novel enough that this watered-down revenger can expect us to pay attention without bringing something new to the table.
Audience Reviews for Kite
Adapted from a Japanese anime film, Kite is a provocative and action-packed thriller set in a dystopian future. After her parents are murdered by a flesh-cartel, a young woman named Sawa teams up with her father's former police partner to get her revenge. India Eisley gives a strong performance as a femme fatale, but Samuel L. Jackson pretty much phones it in. Also, the plot is rather rote, with the stereotypical fare; gangs, shoot outs, drugs, dirty cops, etc. Additionally, there are some storytelling issues; with the different story threats not weaving together very well. But even so, the action scenes are dark and gritty, bringing an intensity and edginess to the film. All in all, Kite is a mediocre thriller that says some interesting things about the cost of revenge.
Super Reviewer
The anime version was bad ass. This was a bit lacking. The acting (referring to the sister from Secret Life of an American Teenager) was a bit lacking.
The plot was good, and the cinematography wasn't horrible, but I don't think they chose the cast well. The execution needed work.
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