Kite

After a brutal double homicide rips apart Sawa's life, she resolves to find the killer who destroyed her family. She teams with her father's former partner, Karl Aker, and a shadowy ally from her past to begin tracking a suspect across the city. As she slips deeper into the corrupt realm of human trafficking, she trains herself to move with speed, stealth, and ruthless precision, taking on dangerous assignments to survive. The path tests her limits and blurs the lines between victim and aggressor. Along the way she uncovers a hard truth about the people she believed she could trust, forcing her to decide whether vengeance is worth the price.

Directed by Ralph Ziman, Kite reimagines Yasuomi Umetsu's original manga for a live action format. The production blends a transcontinental cast and crew, with shooting across international locations to capture a contemporary cityscape. Ziman leans into kinetic action while grounding the story in a gritty urban mood, and the performances of Samuel L. Jackson and India Eisley anchor the film's emotional center.

Box office details are limited due to Kite's selective release strategy. The film opened in a few markets and expanded gradually, but precise worldwide figures were not widely reported. In practice this meant a modest commercial footprint that did not become a major box office powerhouse.

The film did not accumulate major award nominations or wins at the Oscars, Emmys or Golden Globes. It did, however, attract attention from genre press for attempting a darker take on a familiar anime premise and for performances that many viewers found engaging. Still, critics treated Kite as a bold experiment that struggled to balance style with accessible storytelling.

Reception noted Kite for its stark mood and blunt treatment of heavy themes such as trafficking and vengeance. Some praised the atmosphere and the performances, especially Eisley and Jackson, while others found the adaptation uneven and the pacing inconsistent, resulting in a mixed response. The movie raises questions about the moral costs of survival and the way power corrupts both criminals and protectors, inviting steady debate after the credits roll.