In the last few years Kate Beckinsale has starred in several movies that seem almost indistinguishable, at least on paper. The same is true of her latest star vehicle Wildcat which once again features Beckinsale as a tough as nails government agent with a troubled past. However, what piqued my interest with this one wasn’t actually Beckinsale but that it was the latest film from director James Nunn.
Action fans should be aware of Nunn’s work on the terrific One Shot (2021) and its sequel One More Shot (2024), both of which showed his talents with helming elaborate action scenes as well as working within the confines of a low budget. Of course, it did help that both of these films were bolstered by a leading performance from action legend Scott Adkins. Even so, Nunn’s talent behind the camera shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Even before the One Shot movies, Nunn was helming enjoyable actioners, being behind several films from WWE studios. Eliminators (2016), Marine 5: Battle Ground (2017) and Marine 6: Close Quarters (2018) were all better than they had any right being. Obviously, none of those mentioned would win any awards for their scripts but in terms of action they can’t be faulted.
With all this in mind, I entered into Wildcat with a fair bit of optimism. Hopefully this wouldn’t just be another forgettable Kate Beckinsale star vehicle, and even if it was, at least we would be treated to some well shot action courtesy of Nunn. Well, I was right on one of these counts.
To be fair, there is enough going on here to make Wildcat a worthwhile watch, but unfortunately it never fully sticks the landing. Typical of Nunn, there are several well orchestrated action scenes throughout the film, featuring a decent mixture of gunplay and martial arts. What ultimately hampers Wildcat is its script, and more specifically, the characters therein. Maybe I should have known when realizing that screenwriter Dominic Burn’s (credited as Dee Dee for whatever reason) other screenplays were for the likes of Alien Uprising a.k.a U.F.O (2012) and the only marginally better Allies (2014).
The plot focuses on former black ops agent Ada (Kate Beckinsale) who is forced to put her skills to use once again after her brother Edward (Rasmus Hardiker) has gotten into trouble with some of London’s most dangerous criminals. As well as threatening Edward’s life, they have also kidnapped Ada’s eight year old daughter in order to coerce her into pulling off a dangerous diamond robbery.
With no other choice, Ada puts together an ex-black ops team which includes her former lover Roman (Lewis Tan) who has only recently come back into Ada’s life. While they are able to pull off the robbery, their actions put them in the middle of a turf war between crime bosses Frasier Mahoney (Charles Dance) and Christina Vine (Alice Krige), who Ada has stolen the diamonds from. With the clock ticking and nowhere to turn, Ada and her team not only have to rescue her daughter but survive the bubbling violence between Mahoney and Vine.
Kate Beckinsale should be somewhat commended for trying to make her character slightly different from her typical roles, with Ada being more working class, even sporting a “Sarf London” accent. Clearly this was an attempt to make Ada more relatable, but at the end of the day she still looks like Kate Beckinsale. It takes a fair amount of suspension of belief to believe that Beckinsale is this hardened soldier when she spends the majority of the film looking like a model.
Beckinsale (or I should say her stunt double) gets a fair share of the action scenes, with some decently choreographed action scenes. A fight where she takes on multiple opponents in an underground carpark is a standout, with Nunn and his action team doing a good job with the action design which smartly covers the use of Beckinsale’s double when required to pull off the more elaborate moves.
Not requiring the elaborate need for doubles is Lewis Tan, who easily walks away with the film’s best moments. While Beckinsale may get top billing, this is as much a starring vehicle for Tan as it is for her. The relationship between him and Beckinsale’s Ada is intended to be the emotional crux that the film rests upon, but there isn’t enough time spent on their back story to make their romance totally believable. Obviously the two of them make an attractive couple, but their relationship doesn’t fully convince, no matter how much Tan and Beckinsale try to sell it.
What does convince is Tan’s martial arts skills, with him getting several occasions to show off his capabilities. The best of these is a garage set fight scene where Tan takes on multiple opponents, using whatever tools are available in order to gain the upper hand. Considering the number of action scenes that are peppered throughout the film, the film disappointingly leads to something of an anti-climax. I expected the film to build up to a final fight scene between Beckinsale and the film’s multiple villains, but instead it’s something of a damp squib, with it seeming as if the filmmakers were in a rush to wrap things up. After all the build up during the film, I didn’t expect the finale to be the film’s shortest action scene.
Other than Beckinsale and Tan, the film is given some added class with its main villains being played by Charles Dance and Alice Krige. Of the two, Krige gets more screen time, with her being an especially cold blooded matriarch of a gangster family. Her character is at odds with fellow gangster Dance who other than a brief shot during the opening moments only appears in one, albeit great, scene. The film would have benefited if both Dance and Krige were afforded more screen time to establish their rivalry, rather than just being told about it third party from other characters.
Considering Dance and Krige are the villains, they are still more likeable than Rasmus Hardiker’s Edward. A walking car crash, he is the main reason for Ada’s plight, with him continuing to cause mayhem as the film progresses. Honestly, you shouldn’t be hoping the villains kill one of the films “heroes”, but that’s exactly where I found myself when watching Wildcat. This isn’t a critique of Hardiker’s acting, as he is a more than accomplished performer, but as a character, Edward leaves a lot to be desired. I will say though, he does inject a modicum of humor into the film which I was grateful for. Initially, I thought that’s what the film was going for, a cheery, violent Guy Ritchie vibe, but this quickly dissipates into an otherwise serious action tale.
Bailey Patrick fares better as Curtis, another member of Ada’s olf team who comes to her aid. Patrick brings a streetwise swagger to his performance, with him being suitably tough in his handful of action scenes.
Fans of boy band Busted (I’m sure there’s some) will have some fun spotting former member Matt Willis who shows up as Krige’s right hand man. It’s not exactly a great part but he does get a decent amount of screen time.
Wildcat definitely feels like a stepback for James Nunn after his stellar One Shot movies. The real disappointment comes from the fact that this had all the elements to become a memorable actioner, with none of them fully coming together. Luckily Nunn has the third in that series to fall back on, with it just recently wrapping production. Beckinsale and Tan certainly deserve better material than this. Personally, I think maybe Beckinsale should take a step back from the action movies for now and focus on something that gives her more of an opportunity to show off her acting ability.
For Tan, he recently co-starred in the action thriller Safe House (2025). Similarly to Wildcat, I very much doubt that it will set the world alight but overall its a more entertaining movie with Tan getting a meaty supporting role. He also has the upcoming Mortal Kombat II (2026) which will hopefully utilize him better than the first film did.
Plot: 2.5/5
Acting: 2.5/5
Action: 3/5
Overall: 2.6/5
