![]() Screenwriter Richard Wenk leans into familiar actioner cat-and-mouse territory to the point that the film lacks distinguishable flare. With the past now back to haunt them, the murder-adept pair must reckon with their unsevered loose ends, bringing them into contact with big baddies (Michael Keaton) and past acquaintances (Robert Patrick). Their relationship is wrapped in a loving-yet-unwonted undertone, with the childish-in-demeanour Moody having taken the orphaned Anna under his wing while on a mission in Vietnam thirty years earlier. ![]() Take for instance the film’s lead, Anna (Maggie Q) a self-assured bookshop owner who, when she isn’t attending to her rare collection of classic literature (Poe, anyone?), assists her “adoptive” Father Moody (Samuel L. In the world of assassins, the art of deceit means not only getting the job done but a performative means of survival. Characters use strong language and there are sexual references, some nudity, and a non-explicit situation.A stacked cast and straightforward story make The Protégé an easy-to-digest romp, though the assassin caper doesn’t live up to the Bond-esque heights of its director, Martin Campbell.įrom the outset, The Protégé sets itself up for big suspense. There are fights, explosions, guns, and knives, torture tactics, and a lot of gushing blood. Parents should know that this is an extremely violent and gory movie with many characters injured and killed and many graphic and disturbing images. For me, the gore and the weird vibe between Anna and Rembrandt were so extreme they took me out of the film for some others that will be the point. Let’s face it this movie is just an excuse for a lot of action, from extended stunts to out-of-the-blue murders. This is a good thing as he isn’t around for long. The mystery isn’t much of a mystery and you will not need a quirky hacker to figure it out. Director Martin Campbell wants to replicate the sexy sword fight as romantic foreplay of “The Mask of Zorro,” but with these characters and this level of hand-to-hand combat, it does not work as intended. It wants to be as stylish as “John Wick,” but it is not. Are Rembrandt and Anna going to fight each other or have a more intimate tussle? What do you think? And unlike many fixers, he is not above getting messy. Rembrandt is a fixer for a very bad guy with many minions. In classic movie fashion, they flirt by knowing the same poem. His name, improbably even in the context of a film that left probability behind about 3 minutes after the opening credits, is Rembrandt and he is played by Michael Keaton. There may be a connection to a customer who came to her bookstore. There will be an old friend (the always-welcome Robert Patrick as a biker dude) who tries to persuade her that “You owe it to Maody to stay alive.” But Anna has to find out why Moody was killed and kill whoever was responsible. ![]() ![]() Say it with me, everyone: This time, it’s personal. But even assassins may be vulnerable, and Moody has a bad cough and some very powerful enemies. It’s just your typical loving father and daughter who happen to be, you know, paid assassins.Īfter we get a chance to see how good Anna is at her job, including “how to find things that don’t want to be found,” with the help of a friendly hacker who has an office behind a dry cleaner (just like “The Man From UNCLE!”). She supports his passion for the finer things, too, including a birthday gift of an ultra-rare guitar he has always wanted, a Gibson ’58 Flying V. He cares for her like any loving parent who happens to be a paid assassin, supporting her passion for her bookstore specializing in rare and precious volumes, and teaching her how to take over the family business. Jackson), the world’s greatest paid assassin, after her family is killed. The always-great Maggie Q plays the title character, taken in as a child by Moody (Samuel L. Plus, the intensity of the gore becomes another distraction from the reason we are all there, which is to marvel at the very impressive stunts and fight scenes. “ The Protege” teeters on the “huh” brink, with enough for three episodes of Pitch Meeting, the YouTube series hilariously dissecting movie plot holes. Copyright Lionsgate 2021I do not expect narrative coherence from movies that fall into the category of don’t-pay-attention-to-the-plot-just-enjoy-the-action, just that they don’t distract the audience with too many “huh?” moments.
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