19
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 40Village VoiceKatherine VuVillage VoiceKatherine VuIn a film that pits the heroine directly against the sexualization of young women, the camera's gaze itself feels awfully exploitative.
- 30VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeAt the very least, Kite could have given Jackson some scenery to chew.
- 25New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithA kill-a-minute gore-a-thon whose twist is so obvious your grandma Edna will see it coming, Kite never gets off the ground.
- 20The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeRalph 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.
- 20The DissolveDavid EhrlichThe DissolveDavid EhrlichAlthough the live-action Kite has been graphically desexualized, the anime’s exploitative attitude nevertheless prevails, made all the more prominent by the film’s refusal to engage with it directly.
- 20New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanAs for Jackson, he strolls through the nonsensical story so casually, one suspects his mind is on other things — like what he’ll do with his paycheck. He has probably already moved on. We’ll happily do the same.
- 20The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergNasty for nastiness’s sake, Kite drags to achieve its brief running time; you wonder whether the slow motion is an artistic device or a stalling tactic.