When her mentor gets murdered, an assassin seeks revenge for the people behind the hit.
Entertaining, yet nothing innovative. I don’t really like badmouthing films, but here we are – especially the ones that decent effort has been put into them. I’ll start with some positive feedback: Maggie Q. Maggie Q has proved to be a diverse actress, seen in dramas, action/adventures, and even horrors. Her acting skills extend beyond her fighting or modelling skills, and when the role demands it, she rises to the occasion.
Unfortunately, The Protege is not one of these occasions. Director Martin Campbell, after two James Bond films and numerous other successful (or not) action/thrillers, does not meet today’s standards. The story itself is a cliché, with nothing substantial to offer to the genre, and the characters feel underdeveloped. Personally, I didn’t relate with anyone, and everything felt like a déjà vu from Luc Besson’s early films to today.
I’ve said it numerous times before about action films, and I’ll say it again: From the moment films like John Wick (2014) and Atomic Blonde (2017) were released, the bar has been raised too high. Long shots are partially what cinematic realism stands for. Even though it is an extremely lengthy debate, the argument here is well-established: The action needs to be coherent, clear, and have duration to be believable and be perceived as ‘real’. The director needs to work with the fight coordinator, the actors, and the stunts in preproduction so, during principal photography, everyone knows where they need to stand, where they need to land, and develop the hand-to-hand combat. The editing does not cut it anymore – pun intended. The editing must establish continuity, not in every technique or counter-technique, but when the narrative demands it. Therefore, the info on the poster “From the studio that brought you John Wick…” sounds somewhat ironic. The film features Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton but, as with the rest of the performances, don’t expect much.
Unfortunately, again, the narrative here is something almost everyone has seen before, lowering the excitement to underground levels. It’s a shame, really.
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