Grove City Messenger - September 19th, 2021

PAGE 16 - GROVE CITY MESSENGER - September 19, 2021
September
26 – Sunday Bible Class 9:30 a.m.: Happiness
September
26 – Sunday Morning 10:30 a.m.: Worship
September
26 – Sunday Evening 6:00 p.m.: Faith
September
27 – Monday Evening 7:00 p.m.: Priorities
September
28 – Tuesday Evening 7:00 p.m.: The Church
September
29 – Wednesday Evening 7:00 p.m.: Pure Religion
Looking for a small,
friendly church experience? Try
First Presbyterian Church
of Grove City
4227 Broadway, Grove City
In-person Worship 10 a.m.
Services will continue on
Facebook Live at 10 a.m. as well
www.fpcgc.org
Free Community Brown Bag Lunch Drive-through
Saturday, September 25th, 11:00 am- 1:00 pm
EMMANUEL LUTHERAN
CHURCH
80 E. Markison Ave., Columbus, OH 43207
elclife.org
SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE
8:30 am & 11:00 am
BIBLE CLASS
Adult and Youth (K-5)
9:45 am
*11:00 service includes a radio broadcast
in our parking lot on FM 87.9
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Contact us today to secure your spot in our Worship Guide.
614.272.5422 • kathy@columbusmessenger.com
A number of assassin-related films have
come to theaters and streaming platforms
within the last few months, none of which
have been a hit, so to speak, with the viewing
public. This lack of interest from the
populous could be due in part to a desire to
see lighter fare but I think it has more to
do with a general perception that it will be
just like the one that came before it.
While there has never been much variation
within the genre — after all, there are
only so many ways to show how a lone person
with skills can take down a
weaponized horde — it has seemed lately
that writers and directors are not even trying
anymore, relying instead on popular
tropes found within the cinematic assassin
films of yore. Occasionally, these retreads
can click with the audience but there has
to be something new that pulls them in,
something that makes them believe there
is a spark of creative life in a tale that overwhelmingly
deals with death.
The latest film of this type to make an
attempt at bringing something different to
the killing field is “Kate.” In this Netflix
original, the creators take that popular
trope of the weary assassin that is determined
to fulfill the mission and spins it
into one where the weary assassin that is
determined to fulfill the mission has but
hours to live. The employment of that plot
device adds a greater sense of urgency to
the narrative but unfortunately the fulfilment
of that creative choice falls a bit short
despite the best efforts of the intriguing
lead.
When “Kate” begins, our skilled assassin
(played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is
contemplating retirement. Since her
teenage years, she has been going from
country to country, killing whomever her
handlers want, but lately has found this
way of life to be unfulfilling. When she tells
her main handler Varrick (Woody
Harrelson, collecting a paycheck) her newfound
doubts, he scoffs and tells her he
would give her “two visits to Walmart”
before she changed her mind.
Feeling as if he is right on the mark, she
goes about her latest assignment of picking
off Yakuza members in Tokyo but is unsettled
when forced to kill one while he is in
the presence of his young daughter.
Shaken by the events, Kate is more determined
than ever to get out of her current
line of work but is again drawn back in the
fold with the promise of making one more
hit that would “cut the head off the rest of
the snake.”
During her mission to kill Yakuza boss
Kijima (Jun Kunimura), she experiences
sudden fatigue and dizziness and asks for
more time so she can reorient herself. Not
www.columbusmessenger.com
In Entertainment
“Kate” misses the mark
in assassin film genre
The Reel Deal
Dedra Cordle
being granted any
leeway, she takes
the shot, misses and
erratically tries to
drive away to safety
before she can pass
out.
When she wakes
in a hospital 24 hours later, she is
informed that she has been poisoned with
a radioactive material and has less than a
day to live. Though Kate is literally decaying
from the inside out, she rejects the doctor’s
offer of a “comfortable death” and
decides she would rather seek vengeance
against those responsible for her condition.
Along the way, she meets the young
daughter of the man she previously killed
and, with her help, sets out to go on one
final mission to avenge her own murder.
Though “Kate” tries its best to become
its own movie, the tendencies of writer
Umair Aleem and director Cedric Nicolas-
Troyan to fall back on well-worn tropes of
action and assassin movies makes it look
like the retread I addressed earlier. While
there are some nice plot deviations and fun
action sequences, the overall film doesn’t
necessarily feel fresh or exciting, especially
when overused camera tricks like blood
hitting the lens are employed. It is well
past time directors retire that one, unless,
of course, it’s a 3-D horror — those can stay.
One of the most compelling aspects of
this movie is Winstead, who, after playing
The Huntress in “Birds of Prey” is no
stranger to the loner assassin character.
Though Kate is ultimately a ruthless
killing-machine, Winstead plays the part
with some vulnerability, especially when
meeting Ani (Miku Martineau), the young
daughter whose father she killed in the
opening scene. They make an odd quasimentor/quasi-mentee
team but their relationship
is quite underdeveloped, another
unfortunate casualty of the script.
Though “Kate” has many flaws in its
execution of being a trailblazing
action/assassin film, there are enough elements
here that make it mostly watchable.
With its pops of color that pay homage to
the Japanese city, a compelling lead,
moments of humor and engaging fight
scenes, it’s a decent, albeit violent, way to
pass some time.
Grade: C-
Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff
writer and columnist.