The so-called “Agency” is a lot like a Southeast Asian version of the La Femme Nikita covert organization. Each female assassin has a “guardian,” who is only supposed to watch over them. In practice, the watchers code-named “Grey Fox” will have to fight like heck. It sort of goes with the territory when you work for an assassination agency. They will have to fight each other when a power struggle splits the Agency. Again, this isn’t so surprising for a group of killers-for-hire. Whether he likes it or not, the new Grey Fox must look after his Kittys in Lee Thongkam’s Kitty the Killer, which releases today on VOD.
It is a bit of mess when Keng, the Grey Fox, sends Dina, his favorite Kitty, to retrieve a box from sleazy Wong, before he can sell it to the Japanese wing of the Agency. Whatever is in that box is a lot like the glowing briefcase in Pulp Fiction. Keng has his reasons for wanting it, which puts him crosswise with Ms. Violet, the Agency’s boardroom boss, who unleashes “Nina the Faceless” on Keng.
The Grey Fox handily fends off hordes of generic henchmen, but the Faceless Kitty is too much for him. As he nurses his mortal wounds, Keng carjacks poor Charlie, a nebbish office worker, forcing him to become the next Grey Fox.
Or something like that. Honestly, it’s debatable how much of this weird story really makes any kind of sense. However, it is easy to get all the heads that get decapitated by katana swords. Charlie’s shtickiness can be a bit much, but the martial arts beatdowns are brutally spectacular. Sumret Mueangputt’s fight choreography is wildly cinematic, but also dirty and gritty.
Denkhun Ngamnet’s comedic turn as Charlie is definitely hit or miss. However, Tao Somchai Khemklad, Ploypailin Thangprapaporn, and Ying Donnaporn Sukprasert throwdown with authority as Keng, Dina, and Nina. Its just a lot of fun watching them beat each other and anyone who comes in between. Plus, Vithaya Pansringarm (who is almost constitutionally required to appear in every prominent Thai film) adds steely authority as Makin, Keng’s secretive ally in the Agency leadership.
Kitty the Killer is all about action. If you need things like logic and subtlety, it probably is not you cup of tea. However, the energy is unflaggingly kinetic. Recommended as a lot of sinister fun, Kitty the Killer releases today (5/7) on VOD.