Every once in a while, I appreciate a straightforward and
simple action movie.
The Protégé tells the story of Anna, a woman recruited by a man named Moody in Vietnam when he encountered her after she killed a bunch of guys who killed her family and captured her. He trained her as an assassin and together they had a very successful career. Now, Moody is very sick and thinking about his legacy while getting affairs in order. He asks Anna to dig into the son of a hit they carried out years ago. Asking about the son lands Anna deeper into a mess involving shady characters, a return to Vietnam, and a man named Rembrandt who is both intrigued by Anna and prepared to eliminate her.
I really enjoyed this movie. Martin Campbell as a director is great with action – I enjoyed both his Banderas Zorro movies and The Foreigner, and for some reason I have always enjoyed Vertical Limit. Here, he takes his action-directing skills to smaller sets and more hand to hand fights. The cast is game and the story is simple with enough twists to keep the audience engaged. The movie does have some questionable points – I’m not sure what it is saying about Vietnam, but it certainly does not feel complimentary. The age difference between Keaton and Q is significant but I let that go because I felt like the chemistry between them was good. And why is there a biker gang of mostly white guys roaming around Vietnam? Maybe that’s a thing, I have never been there.
Maggie Q has been great for a long time, best known for her
run on the CW version of Nikita, not the 90s Peta Wilson version, and not
either of the film versions (Point of No Return, or the original La Femme
Nikita). It was wonderful to see her as the lead here, and she was completely
believable as a ruthless killer when necessary who also enjoys running her
antique bookstore.
Michael Keaton is even better in this – it made me remember the 80s crush I had on him. As Rembrandt, he has great chemistry with Maggie Q, chasing her and becoming even more interested as she gets the better of him in a couple of instances. It was also wonderful to see him in an action piece again – but it did just make me want a Batman Beyond movie.
Samuel L. Jackson as Moody is really in this to provide exposition and guide the story. He is basically playing himself and it was charming to see him attempt to set up Anna as he approaches the end of his life.
Ray Fearon plays the lead henchman of the security forces that Anna comes up against. He is perfect as the cocky and slimy villain.
Robert Patrick surprisingly shows up as a contact Anna has
in Vietnam, ready to offer support and muscle when needed.
Overall, the movie is simple, quick, and entertaining. It
was exactly what it promised to be and had some great action sequences along
with a great deal of charming flirting between Anna and Rembrandt. It’s a sexy
action thriller that maybe needed a more general nondescript setting.
6 out of 10
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