Scored with a booming Motown soundtrack to accent the realistic armed forces trained action sequences, “Protege” is a special piece of a genre that begs for new tricks, but here “Protege” lets the movie world know nostalgia reigns supreme. Hollywood tends to enjoy throwing their actors away when they hit their 40’s. The cast of Protege is well above 40 and they defy every ageistic stereotype that keeps the rotating door moving swiftly within the film industry.
Maggie Q is the stunner she has always been since before she was on syndicated television in showings such as “Nikita”. That, and she could always throw a punch. It’s the same old formula here as she goes through a revenge plot that feels a bit like “True Romance” while mixed with action sequences that borrow more from “John Wick” and shy away from anything to stylized.
The gorgeous Romanian- posing-as-Vietnam landscape is at the forefront , but still appears just as dangerous as Spike Lee’s most recent joint ; “Da 5 Bloods”.
“Vietnam” isn’t the only optic of focus in “Protege” as various spaces in Europe and the U.K. are covered throughout the expected hour-thirty of the action flicks alloted time. Not once is the U.S. in a shot of this film, and it’s a welcome escape to see people operate their conveyances on the correct side, amongst other things.
Poe passages are recited as gunfire is ignited. Love gets made, only for the potential of lovers getting slayed – making the romance scenes all the more passionate, and all the more realistic – knowing that (as relationships in life are) they will never last. But it’s fun to watch them try. Far from refreshing, but every now and again a rehash can be entertaining when the steps are followed with respect to the genre, not in the effort of a money grab. I can’t tell how many times I’ve seen the old “gun to the gonads” trick under a dinner table in a film, but you know what , somehow seeing Maggie Q perform the act elicited a laugh from me, as did many other tropes performed throughout “Protege” kept me wondering how it would end – featuring murder mysteries that would make Steig Larsson’s spirit blush, and candid quips that would force the jealous nature to come out of comedy’s finest – “Protege” is the result of a group of people doing their homework on a tried and true genre and acing the test in a film that deserves all the press that franchise flicks get off rip. No this isn’t “Jackie Brown”, but I never thought that I would enjoy seeing the reunification between Samuel L. Jackson & (the worst Bruce Wayne ever) Michael Keaton. Apparently their chemistry isn’t just owed to Tarantino’s genius.
I haven’t heard of Wenk or Campbell previous to this film, but now this duo is on my radar. It’s expected for Lionsgate to put out a stellar (and ultimately underrated) production, but the trick is that they banked on a cast so used to the ropes here that they could have just phoned it in as the cameras rolled for this paint-by-the-numbers film. But nobody did, from in front of the camera to those behind it. And that I applaud. It took awhile for it to sink in, but I can understand why so much Motown played throughout the film : “Protege” lays the soul in the action genre bare, using vets and newcomers alike to bridge the gap and put out another instant Lionsgate-backed action packed classic.
SCORE: 4/5
Directed by Martin Campbell and written by Richard Wenk, the film is produced by Arthur Sarkissian, Moshe Diamant, Rob Van Norden, Yariv Lerner, and Chris Milburn.
Starring Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, and Samuel L. Jackson, with Robert Patrick
C.V.R. The Bard
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