The Protege movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: The Protege

This stylish action flick is now available in theaters

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 49 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

Samuel L. Jackson in Vietnam? Sure! I’m sold! Don’t we all love seeing him be a fish out of water in crazy situations? Add the lovely Maggie Q and hilarious Michael Keaton and you’ve got yourself a great start. The story is about Anna, who is the world’s most skilled contract killer. She was rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody. However, when Moody is brutally killed, she vows revenge for the man who taught her everything she knows. As she becomes entangled with an enigmatic killer (Michael Keaton) whose attraction to her goes way beyond cat and mouse, their confrontation turns deadly and the loose ends of a life spent killing will weave themselves ever tighter.

This entertaining action thriller is brought to us from the studio that created John Wick and the director of Casino Royale, Martin Campbell.

THINGS I LIKED:

Fans of Nikita will be thrilled to see the beautiful Maggie Q back in action. She has beauty, brains, and brawn in every movie and TV show she does.
Michael Keaton still has some moves at 69 years old. His cat and mouse action scene with Maggie Q was impressive and hilarious.
The main leads look like they had a lot of fun making the film. They all got game.
We get to travel all over the world to places like Vietnam, London, and Bucharest.
There is some dark humor, entertaining sarcasm, and delicious banter that showcases playful relationships between some of the leading characters.
Surely, a sequel or even a prequel is to follow.
Don’t get comfortable…there’s a twist!
There are a lot of scenes with no dialogue, just action or setup.
Great tension building with camerawork and music…and mostly sexual tension.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It takes about 29 minutes to establish the characters and their relationships and then the action begins.
Some of the sound-mixing wasn’t very good and some of the edits were odd.
Some subplots are completely dropped.
Somewhat predictable revenge story.
The plot is a bit stuffed and messy.
It’s annoying and ridiculous when a bunch of skilled shooters fire away non-stop for 30 seconds and miss their mark.
For being “the world’s most skilled contract killer, Anna sure gets caught and shot a lot.
Quite a few exposition scenes, especially during the last 10 minutes.
We’ve definitely seen this kind of movie before.
Some entertaining moments but forgettable after a couple of days.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Lots of bloody violence with guns and other weapons, as well as hand-to-hand combat
Explosions and destruction
Several languages are spoken, often without subtitles
Profanity, including F-bombs
You have to read newspaper clippings
Torture scenes like waterboarding
A lot of people are killed but “they’re all bad guys”

THEMES:

Redemption
Loyalty
Friendship
Vulnerability
Bad vs. evil

FUNNY LINES:

“You gotta see a doctor about that cough.” – Anna (Maggie Q) “Traditional or witch?” – Moody (Samuel L. Jackson)
“Make up your mind: either kill me or fxxck me.” – Rembrandt (Michael Keaton)

INTERESTING LINES:

“We find people who can’t be found.” – Anna (Maggie Q)
“We all have scars. If you stare at them long enough, you’ll remember how you got them.” – Moody (Samuel L. Jackson)
“He didn’t save my life. He gave me a life.” – Anna (Maggie Q)
“Well have to pay for our sins eventually.” – Anna (Maggie Q)
“You can’t change where you came from but you can change where you’re going.” – Rembrandt (Michael Keaton)