​FILMS

kite

Kite (Action/Drama): 40 out of 100: What could have worked as a straightforward action/thriller/drama has become a bit of a mess under the direction of Ralph Ziman, who is more interested in flashy style than conventionally telling the plot.

A young girl who sees the murder of her policeman father vows to seek revenge and as an adult, hooks up with an officer of the law to track down those involved. Samuel L. Jackson plays the father figure of the young woman seeking vengeance, and it's clear that the poor acting of his fellow cast members has rubbed off on him. He's only in this to pay the bills.

The lead actress, India Eisley, is not very convincing as her performance is quite weak. If you are going to have an action heroine, you need her to be a standout and lure the male audiences that are usually attracted to this type of film.

There are some moments of interest but these are often negated by quick edits, jump cuts, numerous close-ups, annoying slow motion sequences and a variety of filming angles which suggests that the director thought he would include every different direction technique he had seen in action movies. Perhaps he just wanted to show off what he had learnt in film school.

This is more of a DVD film than a cinema release. It's filled with stereotypes from the plot to the villains. If you're tight with your money, you could even wait to see this on TV...free-to-air of course!

Starring India Eisley and Samuel L. Jackson
(90 minutes)
Parental advice: High level violence
Additional scene during or after credits: No
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l0l7uphJ-Wg (Movie trailer)

(Reviewed on Tuesday 23rd September, 2014)