Martin Campbell directed the landmark BBC thriller Edge of Darkness in 1985. He was then given the task to reboot the James Bond franchise twice.
Nowadays Campbell is a veteran relegated to making B movies.
The Protégé has plenty of raw action, some of the violence is hard edged. The plot is forgettable and half baked.
Anna (Maggie Q) was taken in by an assassin called Moody (Samuel L Jackson) who found her as a child in Vietnam.
Moody has trained Anna to be a contract killer. She also uses a vintage bookshop in London as a front. One day a man called Rembrandt (Michael Keaton) walks into her shop and Anna's world changes.
Soon people she knows have been killed and Anna goes after the baddies for revenge. The finale ends up in Vietnam where Anna's traumatic past is revealed.
Along the way Ann has several showdowns with the enigmatic Rembrandt who is a fixer for a shady billionaire philanthropist who once faked his own death.
The Protégé is a slickly action thriller let down by a poor plot which holds little surprises.
Maggie Q is fine. Samuel L Jackson can do this in his sleep.
Keaton makes the most of the action scenes which is remarkable given his age. Although he gives the movie some class, you get the feeling he is slumming it after a career boost from movies such as Birdman and Spotlight.
Nowadays Campbell is a veteran relegated to making B movies.
The Protégé has plenty of raw action, some of the violence is hard edged. The plot is forgettable and half baked.
Anna (Maggie Q) was taken in by an assassin called Moody (Samuel L Jackson) who found her as a child in Vietnam.
Moody has trained Anna to be a contract killer. She also uses a vintage bookshop in London as a front. One day a man called Rembrandt (Michael Keaton) walks into her shop and Anna's world changes.
Soon people she knows have been killed and Anna goes after the baddies for revenge. The finale ends up in Vietnam where Anna's traumatic past is revealed.
Along the way Ann has several showdowns with the enigmatic Rembrandt who is a fixer for a shady billionaire philanthropist who once faked his own death.
The Protégé is a slickly action thriller let down by a poor plot which holds little surprises.
Maggie Q is fine. Samuel L Jackson can do this in his sleep.
Keaton makes the most of the action scenes which is remarkable given his age. Although he gives the movie some class, you get the feeling he is slumming it after a career boost from movies such as Birdman and Spotlight.