'Kimi' returns Steven Soderbergh to streamlined satisfaction
HBO Max
Kind of like "Privacy-Invaded Rush," "Kimi" finds writer David Koepp back in the territory of 2012's underrated "Premium Rush," delivering a tight action movie ultimately involving getting across town and staying just ahead of baddies on your tail.
That isn't to overstate the similarities between the relatively lighthearted, somewhat romantic thrills of a bike messenger's furious peddling as compared to the new film, in which Angela (Zoe Kravitz), a survivor of sexual assault, must venture out into an uncertain world (COVID is happening and masks are present, but the film doesn't really hinge on that) to get justice that previously seemed out of reach. Angela, who updates coding for an Alexa-like gadget named Kimi based on miscommunication between user and their device, comes across a recording that sounds like a crime being committed -- which of course is not only true but a loose end that can unravel the entire company as a result of a murderous conspiracy. For a movie that starts so slowly, internally, "Kimi" sure takes off once it finally puts its shoes on and gets outside.
It's also proof once again that director Steven Soderbergh is both fantastic at delivering crisp, efficient work (“Haywire”) but also that he's better when given time to find depth and surprise. In recent years, that's been the unexpectedly memorable "Logan Lucky" and the quietly complex "High Flying Bird." (We’d be here all day if citing the entire filmography.) Taking influence from “Rear Window,” “Blow Out” and more (those who have only seen movies in the last year will think of “The Voyeurs,” but way less horny), "Kimi" sets up its pieces and mows them down, paced like a plane primed for takeoff and accentuated by a variety of '90s hits better left unmentioned. That Koepp keeps the entire thing tightly in its lane deprives the film of wrinkles it needs to become special (and also, admittedly, seems like a result of filming limitations during the pandemic).
Kravitz never fails to hold it together, though, and you could do a lot worse than 86 minutes of running around Seattle with her.
B
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