Yasuomi Umetsu’s infamous 1998 ultra-controversial, child-raping, super-violent anime cult fave about an orphaned and abused schoolgirl-cum-assassin (India Eisley) gets a desexualized, toned-down live-action treatment here, but the exploitative attitude remains.

The apparent hook is that Samuel L. Jackson is in it, but he usually seems so distracted it’s like he’s daydreaming about how he’s going to spend the paycheck. This dreary Sin City cheapo rip-off is mean-spirited just for the sake of mean-spiritedness. Obvious, repetitive, and just plain boring, this kite don’t fly. (90 min)