“Kimi” is now streaming on HBO Max starring Zoë Kravitz as Angela, an agoraphobic tech worker who spends her days filing through customer home control system commands to find and fix errors. One day Angela hears a woman in distress, and when she attempts to take this information up the chain to get some help, she finds that not only is trying to help this mysterious woman not a priority, but Angela also soon learns it could endanger her own life.
If this plot sounds familiar you may be thinking of the 90’s cyber thriller “The Net” starring Sandra Bullock. This storyline plays out much like a modern-day retelling of that plotline complete with a lone isolated character, and a cover-up of some kind. But don’t let that deceive you from sitting back and watching this one if you’re interested because despite its recycled tropes, there is still an inviting vibe that can lure you into the tension and paranoia Angela will be forced to work through.
It should be no surprise a film from Steven Soderbergh and David Koepp would feel like something ripped from the 90’s, and here it works like a charm. This movie doesn’t try too hard to force the suspense. Nor does it incorporate unneeded story layers and subplots to the point the plot progression comes off as contrived. It keeps the formula simple; it relies on the emotionally driven performance from Kravitz, and while it may not be a film that reinvents the genre, there is more than enough tension-filled substance to be engaged with.
However, on the other side of the coin, despite its quick 90-minute runtime, the story does take its time to get going. The first-act is on the slow side but fortunately once it gets going “Kimi” is an easily consumable, easily engaging, current-day cyber thriller that can lure you in. More substance in the main character backstory to explore Angela’s life a little deeper could have been the chance for this movie to feel a tad more unique. But what “Kimi” does provide is certainly more than enough to have a satisfying, suspenseful time on the couch with.
Grade: 80%
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2022 SilverScreen Analysis. All Rights Reserved.
