Hey, Hollywooders! What’s Good in the ‘Wood?
I just got back from seeing The Protégé, one of the many new movie releases out now in movie theaters.
I took a look at theaters near me to compare movie showtimes and settled on going to the 8 p.m. showing at the AMC Theatre near me. I recently moved to a new state, so I reviewed the
Hollywood.com guide for safely going to the movies before buying my tickets. While The Protégé’s official release date was August 20, I snagged a showtime at a theater near me on August 19.
I got to the AMC really early since I had never been to this one. While it had a lot of movie theater snack options, I had just eaten dinner. The movie theater had a decent amount of people in the crowd, but there was still enough room to where there was space in between me and other moviegoers, which put me at ease.
What is The Protégé about?
The Protégé (directed by Martin Campbell) is an action thriller film. It follows Anna (Maggie Q), an assassin who was rescued from a massacre in Vietnam by Moody, another assassin (Samuel L. Jackson). Together, the 2 work on many high profile cases to get rid of evil people who don’t want to be found. After Moody begins to re-explore an old case, he turns up dead, leaving Anna to have to return to the place of her trauma to take down Moody’s killer. Other actors in the film include Michael Keaton, Robert Patrick, Patrick Malahide, David Rintoul, Ori Pfeffer, Ray Fearon, and Caroline Loncq.
My thoughts on The Protégé
While I don’t normally watch action genre movies, I found the movie captivating. I can praise it for strong dialogue, dynamic action scenes, and a strong main character. Those 3 aspects had the movie stand out to me and help my interest in the film.
The dialogue was quick and witty. It had me laughing and smiling at the screen pretty consistently. The timing, delivery, and acting kept the movie fast paced even when there was a lot of backstory to be explained.
The action scenes really kept me at the edge of my seat. In the past, I’ve avoided certain action movies because they felt repetitive. In this case, the way the fight scenes were choreographed was intense and often involved fluid motion into new settings. The creativity in what was used as a weapon or what move could be done had me riveted consistently. I will say the film was a bit gory and graphic at times, so if that isn’t something you like, I might suggest another movie.
In my opinion, Anna (Maggie Q) was the star of the show. Her delivery in particular had me constantly intrigued. With Anna, I never knew what the outcome was going to be. I didn’t know what creative plan she’d have or what object would be her next weapon. She was strong, independent, and really impressive as a character, which is not something too common in my experience of action movies. Anna had her own sexy moments, but more in the way that main characters are treated instead of the love interest of an action film. Plus, while I was looking on Twitter, I saw mention that Maggie Q did her own stunts, which blew me away.
What others thought about The Protégé
I had a lot of thoughts leaving the theater, but I wanted to see what other people had to say about it.
Chris wondered why there wasn’t as much hype for the film.
I’ve seen five new movies opening this week and THE PROTÉGÉ is far and away the best. Slick, confident, mature. Exciting action, great characters, the whole package.
Maggie Q deserved a movie like this years ago and Michael Keaton hasn’t been this appealing in a long time. pic.twitter.com/9M0Uhy8SZq
— William Bibbiani (@WilliamBibbiani) August 20, 2021
Charlie said the title is 90s-esque.
THE PROTEGE is the most 90’s movie title ever.
— Charlie Brigden (@filmsonwax) August 20, 2021
In The New York Times’ review of the film, writer Jeannette Catsoulis says:
“The silliness in Richard Wenk’s script is epic. Anna is no everyday executioner, but a cat-loving, cupcake-making bookstore worker who knows her way around a first edition. She’s the kind of gal who can go from torture chamber to dinner table with nary a blemish, and she does…”
Michael O’Sullivan of The Washington Post says:
“There’s actually some potential here for a franchise that flips the gender expectations of action movies without totally caving to the sexpot assassin stereotype. Q’s Anna is no more and no less of an object than Daniel Craig’s Bond…”
I didn’t have any expectations for The Protégé. Like I previously said, I don’t normally watch action movies, but reading the synopsis and knowing it was a thriller encouraged me to expand outside of my regular genres.
I’d love to hear your opinions on the movie because Twitter didn’t have much of a response yet! Tag us on Twitter (@hollywood_com) with your reactions!
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