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Kite (2014 film)

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Kite
Directed byRalph Ziman
Screenplay byBrian Cox
Produced byAnant Singh
Brian Cox
Moisés Cosío
StarringIndia Eisley
Callan McAuliffe
Samuel L. Jackson
CinematographyLance Gewer
Edited byMegan Gill
Music byPaul Hepker
Distributed byAnchor Bay Entertainment
Release dates
  • July 18, 2014 (2014-07-18) (FIFF)[1][2]
  • August 28, 2014 (2014-08-28) (United States)[3]

April 2015 (Japan)
Running time
90 minutes
CountriesUnited States
South Africa
Mexico
LanguageEnglish

Kite is a 2014 action film directed by Ralph Ziman, based on the 1999 anime of the same name by Yasuomi Umetsu. The film stars India Eisley, Callan McAuliffe and Samuel L. Jackson.

Synopsis

In a vast, multicultural and decimated urban landscape, set after a financial collapse, Sawa, a beautiful but emotionally detached young woman, lives a secret life as a covert assassin. The daughter of a police detective involved in the investigation of human trafficking, she was orphaned at the age of 12 when an unknown assailant targeted both of her parents. Now 18, Sawa is intent upon eliminating members of the flesh-cartels whom she presumes murdered her family—men who exploit the defenseless children of a collapsed society for the pleasure of high-paying, foreign clients.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

A live action adaptation of Kite was reported to be in various stages of pre-production for a number of years, with American film director Rob Cohen attached as either director or producer.[4] The film, which takes place in a post-financial collapse corrupt society, follows a girl who tries to track down her father's killer with help from his ex-partner. The content of the live action film is expected to be toned down from the original OVA. On September 2, 2011, David R. Ellis was hired to direct the remake.[5] On December 17, 2012, Samuel L. Jackson announced that he was the first actor to join the cast of Ellis's Kite, with filming taking place in Johannesburg.[6] Ellis died on January 7, 2013, before shooting started.[7][8] On February 3, 2013, Ralph Ziman took over as director of the film; actors India Eisley and Callan McAuliffe subsequently joined the cast.[9]

Filming

Filming wrapped in February 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Marketing

The 10-minute trailer for the film was released on January 6, 2014,[10] followed by another trailer on July 16.[11]

Release

On May 10, 2013, The Weinstein Company acquired worldwide distribution rights for Kite outside of the U.S., South Africa, and India.[12] On April 17, 2014, Anchor Bay Entertainment acquired the US and Canada distribution rights to the film.[13]

The film was released in 2014.[14] It is the first film based on the anime film licensed in the US by Anime Works.

Critical reception

The film has a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 0%, based on 14 reviews.[15] It also has a Metacritic score of 19 out of 100, based on seven reviews.[16]

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote on his review that "Ralph Ziman's Kite repackages an assortment of genre tropes into an instantly forgettable Luc Besson-aping slog that would be unneeded even if Besson hadn't just returned to big action flicks himself."[17] Peter Debruge of Variety commented: "The super-controversial, often-censored story of an orphaned schoolgirl turned sex slave and assassin isn’t for everyone (and you can’t entirely blame those countries whose strict anti-child pornography laws deemed it wasn’t for anyone), although a slicker, less overtly kinky remake should have been catnip to Sin City and Sucker Punch fans. But judging by the disappointing results, this uninspired Anchor Bay release awaits homevid obscurity."[18] Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave the film two out of four stars, commenting that "Ziman creates a visually interesting, graffiti-festooned landscape, there’s a plenitude of action — including some truly goring death scenes — and Eisley and Callan McAuliffe as Oburi are both nicely appealing. But the tedium soon sets in, thanks mostly to a story that feels clichéd beyond bearing, including a final twist that is so 'never mind.'"[19]

References

  1. ^ "Mamoru Oshii to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Montreal's Fantasia Fest". Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Kite: Sponsored by SuperClub Vidéotron / Anchor Bay Entertainment". Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  3. ^ "New Trailer For Anime Adaptation Kite". Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  4. ^ Press Release. Distant Horizon and Rob Cohen partner on live action remake Of anime hit “Kite” Retrieved 2009 May 21
  5. ^ "David R. Ellis Takes Kite". ComingSoon.net. 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
  6. ^ Samuel L. Jackson Joins 'Kite' Remake, Says He Loves 'Oldboy' and Is Dying to Do More 'Star Wars' | Movie News | Movies.com
  7. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/david-r-ellis-dead-at-409382
  8. ^ http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/r-i-p-david-r-ellis
  9. ^ Samuel L. Jackson, India Eisley, Callan McAuliffe Fly With ‘Kite’ Remake. It includes new and up coming actress Romancia Reneke as a featured extra
  10. ^ Anderton, Ethan (January 6, 2014). "Watch: Samuel L. Jackson Introduces First Trailer for Live-Action 'Kite'". firstshowing.net. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  11. ^ Anderton, Ethan (July 16, 2014). "Samuel L. Jackson Hunts a Murderer in the Second Trailer for 'Kite'". firstshowing.net. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  12. ^ "Cannes: Weinstein Co. Flies With 'Kite'". deadline.com. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  13. ^ Yamato, Jen (17 April 2014). "Live-Action Anime Adaptation 'Kite' Starring Samuel L. Jackson Acquired By Anchor Bay". deadline.com. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  14. ^ "First-Look At Samuel L. Jackson In Live-Action Adaptation Of Japanese Anime 'Kite'". indiewire.com. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Kite". Rotten Tomatoes/Flixster. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
  16. ^ "Kite". Metacritic/CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  17. ^ DeFore, John (2014-08-20). "Kite: Fantasia Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-10-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ Debruge, Peter (2014-07-20). "Film Review: Kite". Variety. Retrieved 2014-10-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ Howell, Peter (2014-10-02). "Tusk, Kite and Left Behind: movie reviews". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2014-10-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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