Directed By Martin Campbell

Starring – Maggie Q, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson

The Plot – Rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Jackson) and trained in the family business, Anna (Maggie Q) is the world’s most skilled contract killer. But when Moody, the man who was like a father to her and taught her everything she needs to know about trust and survival, is brutally killed, Anna vows revenge. As she becomes entangled with an enigmatic killer (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 even tighter.

Rated R for strong and bloody violence, adult language, some sexual references and brief nudity

The Protégé (2021 Movie) Official Trailer – Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, and Samuel L. Jackson – YouTube

POSITIVES

– Charming leads. One of two elements of the film that helps exceed it from feeling like just another “Anna”, or “Nikita”, or any other female-led action movie from Luc Besson is the charismatic energy and timing from the trio of leads that supplant a duo of insatiable dynamics at the forefront of this narrative. In this respect, Maggie Q and Michael Keaton are an absolute delight as a duo of killers tasked with knocking out the other, all the while supplanting some palpable sexual tension between them that is brought out in humorously dangerous manners. Q herself brings forth her most physically challenging and emotionally complex character to date, enriching the believability of her ferocity with a speed and various fighting styles that make her easily adaptable in any situation. Keaton at 69 is more endearing than 90% of actors at 25, bringing a top class charm and barrage of sharp one-liners that makes him the perfect opposition to Q’s Anna, and one who has no reservations about chewing the scenery up in any scene he accompanies. Finally, Jackson’s minimally effective allowance of time affords an endearing fatherly protector over Q, commanding a gentler side to Sam than we’re typically used to, but one that doesn’t let the air of familiarity in his set of skills drift far from the allowance of heart that he consistently deposits.

– Atmospheric personality. A film with too much action and one dimensional characterization can weigh down the inviting aspects set forth by its dark and devious characters, but a film like “The Protege”, with no shortage of witty one-liners and compelling characters to boot, brings forth one of the more tonally enriching experiences to the movie’s benefit. I certainly wasn’t expecting to laugh as many times as I did throughout the movie, but what’s more important is that the briefly comedic material itself never saturated or lessened the effect of the movie’s more than animalistic violence. You still interpret this as a dangerous and condemning world, full of various untrustworthy presences, it’s just that their time in such a business has conjured up an essence of self-deprecation between each of them, and made for various interactions that we the audience just can’t get enough of within this action/comedy hybrid.

– Thunderous brutality. Wasting very little time getting its hands dirty, Campbell and company embark on one of the enthralling series of action sequences that bring forth no shortage of ambitious production value along the way. With the exception of a terribly deposited squirt of C.G blood during the opening act, we are treated to consistency in smooth, free-flowing camera techniques, riveting sound designs, and fight choreography that would make John Wick reach for a gun, in hopes of a breath of rest. The blows themselves deposited from both sides leave a lasting impact so vividly immersive that they transfer the pain felt by the characters with a heft of unforgiving circumstance, and the echoing chorus of carnage triggering our audible capacities offers an inescapably rich detection that paints the conflict of each scene if the stacking body toll becomes a bit too much for sensitive eyes.

– Balance of power. Part of what makes the struggle between Q and Keaton’s characters so compelling to the layer of unpredictability that envelopes it, is the allowance of time deposited to the latter that very few films would waste valuable screen time fleshing out. Aside from his personality being on display with everyone he comes across, regardless of their title or level of power, it’s a sequence where an opposition comes after him that is most telling of his capabilities, allowing a villain to show off in ways that only protagonists are often blessed with. On top of this, it’s the vulnerability deposited to Anna that maintains the humanity in her character, even as her body count piles to double digits by the end of the first act. Beyond her taking her licks among everyone she encounters, it’s the consistency of the toll that it takes that becomes all the more evident by film’s end, unleashing an urgency that enhances the dramatic magnetism with the level of vulnerability that most female protagonists in action movies simply wouldn’t dare.

– Return to form. Martin Campbell isn’t one of these big name directors who sells a film on name alone during the marketing of his trailers, but more times than not does cement himself as a versatile presence, and one who crafts no shortage of redeemable qualities to the ages old formula and genres that his films are often plucked from. For “The Protege”, it’s the action, urgency, and most importantly, the substantially sleek style that exudes a faithful homage to spy thrillers of the early 70’s. On that latter, there’s nothing with the presentation that is overtly distracting to the integrity of the storytelling, instead permeating a polished, intoxicating color coordination that does wonders for interpreting the upper class ideals that surround Anna’s many clients, but also the exploration of the worldwide conflict that makes his characters and their psychology so palpable to the integrity of the movie’s driving force.

NEGATIVES

– Flat story. Even with as many compelling characters as there are exciting action sequences, the meat of the material between scenes of downtime simply can’t muster the magic needed to hook audiences to the allure of its mystery. For my money, there is a unique angle to the film’s storytelling pertaining to Anna’s tortured past, and the emotional healing required to force her back home, but it’s suppressed and often shelved for a conveyor belt plot that we’ve seen plenty of times in movies of this fabric, enduring it to feeling like just another of the pack for all of the least exciting reasons. I was never bored with “The Protege”, but it’s a film that I wanted to like so much more and couldn’t, because the autopilot direction and lukewarm deviation leaves too much more to be desired, leaving the thrills and banter as the minority between the majority of the unraveling and unexciting story before us.

– Anxious editing. One element that nearly compromises the integrity of the exhilarating action set pieces attained through smooth cinematography and rampant stunt work is the overtly-enthusiastic editing that is sadly a product of its contemporary age. I say this because the physicality itself is pasted together with the kind of shotgun consistency that often makes it difficult to coherently interpret what’s going on during closely tight-knit proximity between characters. Likewise, a few of the transitions between scenes are a bit strange and momentarily confusing from one character to the next, often forcing me to halt my engagement to remember where certain characters were at during any given moment, and how the level of this editing made some of them feel like they transported before our very eyes to save time.

– Pointless twist. Consider me one of few critics or moviegoers who didn’t see the twist coming with the disappearance of a particular character, early on in the story. I say that because there’s nothing about this opportunity that changes the dynamic or even presents itself as anything that is even remotely impactful when the wool finally is pulled over eyes, and the unexpected becomes the unnecessary. It’s difficult enough to overlook matters of logic with certain other characters not being in on the act itself, but it’s completely bonkers when you consider what it took to even pull of such a feat, and how the characters inside of the film itself are asked to swallow even more than we the audience are. If a twist doesn’t leave a lasting impact that changes up the tempo of the conflict, does it even make an influence? The answer is of course no.

– Frustrating ending. Taking my final score down an entire point was a weak and anticlimactic ending that echoed a bigger problem persisting throughout the entirety of the movie. That concept is the need to tell and not not show what takes shape in the more important pay-off’s throughout the film’s many physical sequences. During the first act, it’s with a sudden afterthought of a death deposited to an important character that is illustrated within the context of Anna’s sketchy and unreliable prediction of what happened based on everything seen throughout the apartment in real time. During the second act, it pertains to an escape route, which feels like a scene or two of insight is missing to fully comprehend how something like this is even possible. But the breadwinner for this concept goes to the very last scene of the movie, which not only underscores the pay-off of a conflict teased constantly throughout the film, but also leaves too much to interpretation based on what we don’t see in the conflict itself. Not since 2014’s “Godzilla” have I been so frustrated at distracted photography deviating from a materializing conflict, and drifting away during the moments of clarity and experience that sell the final images and impacts as a measure of the overall experience.

My Grade: 6/10 or C