![]() The twisty plot is overly convoluted that it takes the fun out of the movie in the third act. In fact, one of the actors Ray Fearon, has a strong presence but not sure what the point of his character was and he’s gone before you even figure it out. Writer Richard Wenk‘s ( The Equalizer, The Expendables) is laden with clichés and throwaway characters. Campbell’s direction is uneven, the more thrilling bits are often held back by overuse of unnecessary flashbacks. Unfortunately style is mostly what this movie has going for it. I love when an actress playing a femme fatale looks believable that she can perform her own stunts, and she sure fights with style. She’s proven lethal even with just a piece of metal tray or twisted sheet as she is with a gun. There are some genuinely thrilling action stunts inside a sleek skyscraper where she continually eludes her captors. She trades her long reddish hair with a sharp, jet black bob-cut that shows off her features and makes her look even cooler and meaner. I have to say the main reason to see this movie is to see MaggieQ kick ass and she absolutely delivers on that front. Anna finds Moody brutally killed one night, which leads her back to her home country to track down his killer. ![]() You know the action trope of ‘you can’t escape the past,’ well that’s especially true for assassins. Now at this point, I was more amused by this flirty exchange despite the nearly 30-year age difference between the two actors. Clearly being a contract killer is massively lucrative business, Moody’s palatial home looks like those owned by Bond villains! Then there’s the somewhat of a meet-cute with Michael Keaton‘s Rembrandt at her store. I enjoyed the surprisingly sweet father/son dynamics between her and Sam Jackson, especially the moment she gave him a very expensive vintage electric guitar. Let’s just say the first half hour of the film is really enjoyable and promising. But really, who has time when you’ve got people to kill and vengeance to pull off. She’s shown quoting Edgar Allan Poe though there’s not a single scene of her actually reading a book, ahah. It’s actually refreshing to see a bad-ass female heroine who isn’t morose or have a chip on her shoulder, she seems happy living her double life as a contract killer and rare bookstore owner. There’s the exotic locations, stunning locations, and the fact that Anna is also based in London. The fact that Campbell has directed two of my favorite Bond films, Goldeneye and Casino Royale, there’s a deliberate Bond-like vibe about the movie. Cool as a cucumber, she has no qualms in killing people… in fact she seems to relish in it. It’s definitely a cool intro introducing Maggie Q’s potent cred as an assassin. Director Martin Campbell didn’t waste time to let us know just how skilled and deadly Anna is while on a job in Bucharest, Romania. Jackson, natch!) as a young girl, he immediately adopted her and trained her to be a contract killer. Discovered by a legendary assassin named Moody ( Samuel L. ![]() The movie starts off with the protagonist Anna’s origin story back in Saigon on a grim, rainy night. ![]() I remember her from a few episodes of CW’s Nikita, but haven’t seen her in anything since, so it’s cool to see her finally get a feature leading role as Anna in The Protégé. Maggie Q, who Irish/Vietnamese was apparently discovered by legendary action star Jackie Chan when she was doing films in Hong Kong. So the same studio hopes they could launch another action franchise with yet another actor of Euro-Asian descent. Granted it’s a lucrative franchise but really, the secret ingredient for its success is Keanu Reeves. Is it just me or every action flick these days always want to be associated with John Wick. ![]()
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