As they begin to understand exactly who each other are, there’s heavy sexual tension between the two, a complication considering they soon find themselves trying to kill one another.
Simultaneously, The Protégé is also absurdly silly as Michael Keaton’s Rembrandt (a contract killer working for a boss that wants Moody dead, among other things) enters Anna’s bookstore (which is a front for her services alongside a genuine passion). However, when the generic plot begins to kick in involving everything from chemical weapons, faked deaths, and tracking down the location of an individual that Moody helped escape Vietnam as a child, it all becomes a mess that doesn’t amount to anything beyond how far the story can push trauma. It’s also easy to get behind that, doubly so with stylistic choreography and precise framing of the mayhem. She stabs him in the neck with blood shooting forth like a water fountain as her partner headshots the henchmen from afar with a sniper rifle, setting the tone for a hyper-violent piece of work. Jackson, who at this point is just Bruce Willis acting in higher budget movies given the number of times recently his character has quickly left a narrative) to assassinate a Romanian crime lord. You can probably guess which half of the equation sinks this movie.Ĭontract killer Anna (Maggie Q, putting in a fierce and gritty performance that’s nonetheless rousing to watch despite all the issues here) works together with her mentor Moody (Samuel L.
Of course, it wasn’t written by one, but rather Richard Wenk, who has an unflattering resume of late consisting of a WWE movie and a terrible remake of The Magnificent Seven. The Protégé is a gratuitous and repellent action exercise that begs the question of why director Martin Campbell (yes, he was responsible for Green Lantern but also made James Bond classics GoldenEye and Casino Royale, with this project somewhat fitting in that wheelhouse) would want to helm such an overly edgy romp that feels like a teenager wrote it. 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 even tighter. 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. Jackson) and trained in the family business, Anna (Maggie Q) is the world’s most skilled contract killer. Rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Patrick, Patrick Malahide, Ekaterina Baker, Madalina Anea, Ori Pfeffer, Jack Derges, Lili Rich, Florin Piersic Jr., Caroline Loncq, Gamba Cole, Velizar Binev, and Florin Zhang. Starring Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, Samuel L.