IMDb RATING
4.4/10
7.1K
YOUR RATING
After her police-officer father is killed, a young woman tracks down the murderer with help from her father's ex-partner.After her police-officer father is killed, a young woman tracks down the murderer with help from her father's ex-partner.After her police-officer father is killed, a young woman tracks down the murderer with help from her father's ex-partner.
- Awards
- 4 nominations total
Cassiel Eatock-Winnik
- Young Sawa
- (as Cassiel Eatock)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Reviews on this seem to range between worst ever and careful analysis of the movie compared to real live. Hello? It is an action movie, with futuristic elements to boot. Also, most reviewers have suspiciously only reviewed 1 or 2 movies and an IMDb account for several weeks or months. I call those reviews in doubt.
Is it a great movie. No. But neither are most movies by Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stalone and basically anything by Michael Bay. And still, most of you watch it. Quite frankly I rather watch this than yet another Die Hard franchise movie or something out of the Expandable series which is basically recycling for has-been actors.
So what DO we have here. Just a nice action movie, manga remake such as Aeon Flux or Ultra Violet, while the style is more reminiscent of Leon or Banlieu 13 (both by Luc Besson), but without the quality of either of the latter. Just a nice movie on a Saturday night or a rainy day with friends watching a cute naive girl kicking the crap out of some guys. Don't analyze the characters or the story, as you wouldn't with the majority of these kinds of movies, and you'll be OK.
Is it a great movie. No. But neither are most movies by Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stalone and basically anything by Michael Bay. And still, most of you watch it. Quite frankly I rather watch this than yet another Die Hard franchise movie or something out of the Expandable series which is basically recycling for has-been actors.
So what DO we have here. Just a nice action movie, manga remake such as Aeon Flux or Ultra Violet, while the style is more reminiscent of Leon or Banlieu 13 (both by Luc Besson), but without the quality of either of the latter. Just a nice movie on a Saturday night or a rainy day with friends watching a cute naive girl kicking the crap out of some guys. Don't analyze the characters or the story, as you wouldn't with the majority of these kinds of movies, and you'll be OK.
This was a very mediocre film that did almost nothing right. Nothing really worked well in this movie besides the decent gory action that was choreographed well. The plot was dull and the protagonist was hard to root for. Also the movie was very ugly and it made it hard to watch. Even Samuel Jackson couldn't save this dumpster fire and you can tell the budget mainly went to hiring him. The acting and dialogue were also very poor. It's also hard to believe this was based on a Anime and you could tell they butchered the story and left so much out that fans wouldn't recognize it. Pass on this one.
Seeing a 4.3 rating on IMDb, I did expect that something must be wrong with Kite, but found it to be an overall good movie.
Story, Acting, Camera and Setting are without major flaws, and within the genre the story is quite believable and has no obvious holes.
The ending even holds some surprises, and there are a number of memorable scenes.
So why the low rating? My theory is that there are a number of factors:
It might have been a masterpiece if the film makers would not have tried to please the mainstream. It almost seems as if there was a struggle between those forces who wanted to appeal to a wide audience and those who wanted to go to the extreme. The mixed result seems to keep many people unsatisfied, although I regard it as well above average.
I can recommend to watch it and make up your own mind. I believe that "Kite" will be more appreciated over time and find its audience.
Story, Acting, Camera and Setting are without major flaws, and within the genre the story is quite believable and has no obvious holes.
The ending even holds some surprises, and there are a number of memorable scenes.
So why the low rating? My theory is that there are a number of factors:
- The mainstream audience may have a problem with the soundtrack which can be annoying if are not at least a little into dubstep (I found it a prefect fit for this movie)
- To purists the characters may be not cool enough; they are too vulnerable, too human and fail too often be bad-ass uberheroes
- The mainstream may find the setting too dark, while purist may not like the brightening elements in the story
It might have been a masterpiece if the film makers would not have tried to please the mainstream. It almost seems as if there was a struggle between those forces who wanted to appeal to a wide audience and those who wanted to go to the extreme. The mixed result seems to keep many people unsatisfied, although I regard it as well above average.
I can recommend to watch it and make up your own mind. I believe that "Kite" will be more appreciated over time and find its audience.
Visually they have created the dark world. Futuristic yet chaos full world. Not so bad not really good. A one time watchable for pass your time or you need an action movie. Art director, VFX artists, lighting .... The technical team did a wonderful job. Visually it was really good. The mood, camera everything just make us feel like we are in that world. The underworld vibe was there. Anyway I skipped lot, not because the movie was bad because I think I was not in a mood for the action. But giving this movie a chance was not a bad idea. The performance was good by everyone. But still it's not for everyone. Even if you like action movies, this one may not be your taste. So my opinion is give a chance and kill it kind of movie.
7.25 of 10. 20-30 years ago this would have been a great film, bordering on academy award winning material. 15 years ago it would be great still but no longer close to being sci-fi.
Now, it's still entertaining and a quality film, just not worthy of being called science fiction. It's more of an alternate reality that seems more real and likely for Detroit than Robocop.
Regardless of its classification, it is manga/hentai-like minus the graphic nudity and sex. It does show that the stories behind those seemingly sex-only comics and cartoons can be made into quality films. What it also shows, however, is the need to update the technology embedded in the story if you don't want it to seem like a lost 1990s indie film.
Now, it's still entertaining and a quality film, just not worthy of being called science fiction. It's more of an alternate reality that seems more real and likely for Detroit than Robocop.
Regardless of its classification, it is manga/hentai-like minus the graphic nudity and sex. It does show that the stories behind those seemingly sex-only comics and cartoons can be made into quality films. What it also shows, however, is the need to update the technology embedded in the story if you don't want it to seem like a lost 1990s indie film.
Did you know
- TriviaDavid R. Ellis was initially the film's director. However, while in pre-production, he was found dead in the bathroom of his Johannesburg, South Africa hotel room. As a result, Ralph Ziman took over as director.
- GoofsPosition of Oburi's backpack on the ground when he's lighting the grenade, near the guys playing soccer.
- Quotes
Detective Prinsloo: You make friends fast, Aker.
Karl Aker: They're easier to make than get rid of.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Kite: The Making of Kite (2014)
- SoundtracksLike An Animal (In A Cage)
Written by Nicolas Cox
Performed by Nicolas Cox, Analisa Corral and Jeff Wilson
- How long is Kite?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $507,180
- Runtime
- 1h 30m(90 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content