Netflix’s Kate Is Marginally Better Than Every Other “24 Hours To Live” Action Flick

 September 10, 2021

Netflix dropped their female Crank today, and honestly? It’s marginally better than the rest of the “you’ve-got-one-day-to-raise-hell” action movies we keep getting spoon-fed.

For anyone not familiar, Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Kate—an assassin raised from childhood to be a professional killer under the watchful (and shady as hell) eye of her handler, Varrick, played by Woody Harrelson. After a mission in Osaka goes sideways, Kate starts questioning whether she’s actually built for this life. Naturally, Varrick hits her with that “you’ll be back” energy like every manipulative boss you’ve ever had.

Then her “one last mission” turns into a nightmare when she gets poisoned. She wakes up in the hospital with a terminal diagnosis and 24 hours left to live—and that’s when the movie actually kicks into gear. From there it’s nothing but revenge, bullets, neon lighting, and Kate tearing through anyone who even looked at her funny.

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Why Kate Actually Works (Compared to the Other Absurd 24-Hour Movies)

Let’s be real—most movies in this weird subgenre are straight-up ridiculous.

Take Crank. Jason Statham gets poisoned, and the only way he can stay alive is by keeping his adrenaline pumping. Cool concept, but the movie turned into one giant excuse for outrageous stunts—at one point he literally gets road head just to keep his heart rate up. I wish I was making that up.

Then there’s that Ethan Hawke movie where they literally reanimated his dead body and gave him a countdown to figure out a conspiracy. Cool idea… also dumb as hell.

But Kate plays it differently.
Her poisoning? Actually plausible. If you’ve ever watched a spy thriller, a true-crime doc, or even that Criminal Minds episode where SSA Stephen Walker rushes to his dying friend—you know exactly the substance they’re hinting at. Nothing obscure. Nothing cartoonish.

And unlike Crank, the writers didn’t force Kate to do some nonsense every five minutes just to stay alive. No sex marathon. No parkour off skyscrapers. She simply gets a doctor to load her up with syringes full of realistic stimulants. It keeps the story grounded without neutering the action.

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Final Thoughts

Overall, Kate is… solid. Not perfect, not groundbreaking, but absolutely the best in the “I’ve got one day to kill everyone responsible for my misery” category.

The action hits without feeling over the top, the story isn’t insulting, and the ending actually lands emotionally—which is rare for a movie built on nonstop rampage. It’s fun, it’s heartfelt in a few surprising moments, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead sells every scene she’s in.

If someone asked me which 24-hour action movie they should watch?
I’m picking Kate every time.