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Protege film7/11/2023 There’s precious little in “The Protégé” that audiences haven’t seen before in some form or another, but that’s hardly a liability, since the script recombines those familiar elements in such entertaining ways, counting on Q, Jackson and Keaton to make these stock characters come alive. This particular monster (whose identity is better left a surprise, even if it feels like a missed opportunity for a juicy cameo) is protected by several layers of professionals, including Michael Keaton as a man who probably would’ve made an ideal partner for Anna, if they didn’t find themselves on opposite sides of a high-stakes shooting match. He claims never to have killed someone who didn’t deserve it, which means his conscience are clean - how fortunate for them - whereas their latest target is the other kind of killer, whose expensive, heavily protected compound was paid for by crimes too dastardly to trouble audiences with. The movie wants us to believe that Anna acquired such skills from Moody, whose multimillion-dollar home (and equally impressive art collection) has been financed by those aforementioned finding-and-disposing gigs. This is one of those movies in which assassins are so experienced, they can recognize what model of gun is being pointed at them by the signature sound it makes when cocked. Here, the premise was suggested by “The Equalizer” writer Richard Wenk, and while his script is pure pulp, the execution assumes an air of plausibility in the hands of “Casino Royale” director Martin Campbell. Jackson) in a combo one wishes the good folks at Millennium (who make movies with the grimacing likes of Sylvester Stallone, Gerald Butler and Jason Statham) had thought of long before. Anna specializes in finding things “that don’t want to be found” (as a cover, she maintains a rare book store), but her true gift seems to lie in disposing of them once they’ve been located, which Q handily demonstrates in the operation that opens the movie, one that ends with a hard-to-reach Russian crime boss floating face down in his private pool.Īnna is ruthlessly efficient, but also works best as a team, paired with mentor Moody (Samuel L. The enterprising Anna more than holds her own, with close-up brawls packing much-needed heat in a film that otherwise lacks zest and self-awareness.Nearly everyone we meet in “The Protégé” is on the brink of retirement, all but one or two of them nudged violently in that direction by Maggie Q’s title character. Combat scenes, left largely to fisticuffs, do offer solid thrills and bear some resemblance to Campbell’s exemplary work in Casino Royale. Of course, in a film where straightforwardness and familiarity are key to its charm, there ought to be some spicy action. Anna’s interactions with Keaton’s character, ‘Rembrandt,’ pursued in both combat and flirtation, are particularly odd, feeling less Mr. She is played so straight-faced that it denies the film any long-lasting sense of levity. Maggie Q is effective as the skilful Anna, though it is to the detriment of the film that she is never allowed to embrace the bombast of an action star. Jackson and Michael Keaton, each possessing their own gravitational pull, appear on-screen. There is a sense of seriousness that counteracts the film’s infrequent lightheartedness, which becomes apparent when inherently charming actors like Samuel L. 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. 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.
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