Netflix’s ‘Kate’ criticized for ‘white girl on Asian killing spree’ premise

The movie’s not even out, but some reviews are already in, and commentators want to know: Who greenlighted this?

Netflix’s upcoming Tokyo-set action flick “Kate” tells the story of an assassin — played by “Birds of Prey” star Mary Elizabeth Winstead — who, after being poisoned on the job while attempting to kill a member of the yakuza, decides to spend her final 24 hours taking revenge against the Japanese crime syndicate. In the process, she befriends the daughter of a former target and gets advice from co-star Woody Harrelson’s character.  While a classic-enough vengeance plot in theory, a trailer for the film that dropped this month has viewers questioning who decided that, after a year of violence against the Asian community, a movie about a white woman going on a murder spree against the Japanese mob was possibly a good idea.