Netflix is at it again with another algorithm driven "mashup". This movie pulls from: La Femme Nikita, Atomic Blonde, Kill Bill and Crank (among others), but, thanks to slick production and solid acting from Mary Elizabeth Winstead it WORKS MUCH BETTER than I expected. The high contrast, rain-slick neon streets of Osaka and Tokyo are on full display here and the pacing is fast, with just enough back-story to bring the characters to life in a way that was engaging. A couple things of note:
1) The action is more similar to Atomic Blonde in that our female anti-hero is up against an army of dudes, and, instead of some easy one-punch win (a-la Kill Bill) she employs all manner of environmental tools and favors speed over strength. While hyper action movies are always on the low-end of believable - the no-nonsense violence and savagery (and creativity) of the weapons / tools she uses seemed accurate for the character.
2) Mary Elizabeth Winstead nails it. From subtile facial expressions during character moments, to fast action fight-scenes, I bought her in the role. There was zero "cringe" in her approach to the character and I was totally won over.
Finally, a few others have complained that this is yet another "white person kills asians" movies. There's merit to that issue but I would argue that - especially towards the end - the context of western vs eastern (Japanese in this case) crime culture is brought specifically into the plot as topics of honor and loyalty are specifically discussed and contribute to the evolution of the plot in meaningful ways. Personally - as a white guy who spent 7 years in Japan and who speaks Japanese - I thought they did a great job of bringing this stereotype into the plot vs just having another "white action person takes on Asian crime-syndicate" movie...
