Usually, I would take one look at the director attached to this (Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, who also made the phenomenally unnecessary The Huntsman: Winter’s War) and be immediately sceptical about this being anywhere near the neighbourhood of worthwhile. But instead, I was actually looking forward to it because of basically every other name attached to it besides his, namely that of David Leitch’s 87North Productions. This is the studio that, along with its founders, has been pushing modern action cinema into a higher art form over the last several years, and considering star Mary Elizabeth Winstead and her own rising action cred off the back of Gemini Man and Birds Of Prey, I have enough faith in this working out. And honestly, I’d argue that this did work out.
Starting with the main draw, the action scenes, those looking for real battle rapture will get their fill with this one. Stunt coordinator Jonathan Eusebio has done a lot of work with Leitch/Stahelski over the years, including their second-unit work on Captain America: Civil War, and he maintains that same aptitude for staging fist fights and shoot-outs here. His past work with Winstead on BoP helps a lot too, as she becomes the latest instance of 87North using fighting style as character development, with the on-the-verge-of-death titular character progressively getting sloppier as her body literally decays, but is nevertheless lethal in her precision and grin-inducing in her brutality. Much like Tobin Bell in the Saw films, being on your proverbial death bed and still being the most intimidating person in the room is a good look on her.
Also, I just want to point out that DOP Lyle Vincent does some terrific work here also. His past experience with long shots from Bushwick serves him well here, as he gives all the action taking place, be it violent or dramatic, room to breath within the frame and in the larger context of the story, letting it all sink in. I’d argue that his equal experience in depicting children losing their innocence through graphically brutal means as he did in Daniel Isn't Real and Cooties gave him a better idea how to approach some of these scenes as well.
Now, the story itself is nothing all that special, to the point where you could probably guess the ending just from looking at the casting and the briefest of plot synopses. It’s another story of betrayal where the highly-trained assassin Kate has to track down her own killer before she succumbs to polonium poisoning (the practical effects used to show the effects are particularly gruesome). There’s not a whole lot going on that’s surprising or all that original as far as narrative goes, but that’s why the presentation is so vital: If you don’t have your own hits, you have to at least be good enough at playing the classics. And with the garish neon-pink colour palette used to depict Osaka, where the bulk of the film takes place, the frenzied action beats, and just how much work Winstead is putting into the character through her performance alone, I’d say it passes on that front.
However, I’d be remiss if I said that this was entirely about switching one’s brain off in order to engage with it, as there’s something else going on beneath the surface. Betrayal and loyalty are the two main themes being depicted here, tying into notions of family and blood relation and how the two aren’t inherently the same thing, and there’s a predominant motif of cultural exchange going on too. Sure, there’s Kate as the gaijin main character and her surrogate mother-daughter relationship with Miku Martineau’s Ani, but there’s also how American/Japanese relations and cultures clash that gives way to the bigger plot developments.
A lot of what is shown and heard throughout the film is Japan-focused. The needle drops are all from Japanese artists (with rock band Band-Maid appearing on-stage in one scene), and whatever American staples show up are all the result of the Japanese perspective on those staples, like when Kate and Ani stop for a bite at a burger place, or a surprisingly humourous moment where one of the yakuza is watching Message From Space: Galactic Battle, a locally-made rip-off of Star Wars from the ‘70s. It acknowledges the exchange going on, which has been true for decades between both nations… but as it factors into the main plot, and why some of the yakuza are looking to betray their leader, it shows a different kind of cultural shift. Where the ingrained belief in honour and family is corrupted, envy spreading like a “Western disease”. Basically, it’s an admission that for as much Western culture that has been appropriated, not all of it is good for the soul.
Yeah, again, it’s more a matter of presentation than strict subtext, and there’s a certain hypocrisy that can be levelled at this film for how its statements ultimately shape up by film’s end, but at least it’s interesting. Hell, given my willingness to defend the American Ghost In The Shell movie for examining similar ideas about cultural assimilation and appropriation, it’s more than enough for me to see genuine worth in this beyond simple action thrills. But I’m also in the vast majority on such things, seeing as I’m probably the only person online who has gotten tired of the ScarJo casting jokes, so this will likely live or die purely on its ability to entertain as an action flick. But given the pedigree involved, and the vast improvement over Cedric Nicolas-Troyan’s past work, I’d still say it’s worth checking out for those in the mood for some brutal throwdowns on Netflix.
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