“The Protégé” is a first-rate, if sometimes dark, action/thriller. Refreshing in that it involves no government agencies, it is a story of both vengeance and finding one’s own peace. The acting trio of Maggie Q, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson raise this movie to a higher level.

The film begins in 1991 in Da Nang, Vietnam. We see a younger version of Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) entering a run-down building. He finds a series of dead men in an office along with a bag of cash. Hearing a noise, he also discovers a young Vietnamese girl who points a gun at him. Moody marvels that she killed all those people. They leave together.

Thirty years into the future, the picture shifts to Bucharest, Romania. A grown Anna (Maggie Q) is now Moody’s protégé in the assassination business. Using a ransom demand as a diversion, Anna gets in to see the Butcher of Bucharest to get the payment. She then murders him and his henchmen. With the help of Moody, the two escape the scene.

The movie now shifts to London. We see that Anna owns a rare-book establishment. Later she visits Moody at his mansion/castle. It is Moody’s birthday and she has bought him a rare expensive guitar for his present. Moody seems seriously ill.

Moody asks Anna to find out information about a Lucas Shay. After setting the wheels in motion to begin the search, Anna is visited at her store by Rembrandt (Michael Keaton), who claims to want a rare gift for a book-loving friend. When quoted $265,000 for a book of anonymous poetry by Edgar Allan Poe, he demurs but not before reciting one of the poems upon his departure.

Anna returns to visit Moody only to discover that his place has been shot up. His staff member is dead and Anna finds Moody deceased in his bathtub. She calls another colleague who was looking for Lucas Shay, but finds him dead as well at his business establishment.
She heads to the bookstore to begin packing. While there, her place is shot up in a drive-by shooting. Pretending to be dead, she kills the two assailants and escapes.

Intending to avenge Moody’s death, she does research about Lucas Shay, last seen in 1998 in Vietnam. His father, Edward Shay, was assassinated in a car-bomb explosion in Vietnam in 1991. In a photo of the aftermath of the explosion, she sees Moody standing in the crowd of onlookers.

Although she has vowed never to return to Vietnam (flashbacks later show why), she decides to confront Shay’s company’s successor Vohl (Patrick Malahide) in Da Nang. She meets up with Moody’s old colleague Billy Boy (Robert Patrick, almost unrecognizable from T2 days), who leads a motorcycle gang.

After the riders corner Vohl, he agrees to meet Anna in his office along with his attorney Duquet (Ray Fearon). Out of the blue, Duquet shoots Vohl in the head. Maggie tries to escape, but is captured.

She undergoes waterboarding as her captors try to get information out of her. While Anna is resting in her cell, Rembrandt shows up. He is not just a book-buyer.

Why did the search for Lucas Shay result in this bloodshed? Will Anna achieve vengeance for Moody’s death? Who really is Rembrandt?

This is a film that is not afraid to go to dark places. At one point, Moody states the obvious to Anna. They kill people, who usually deserve it, but they are still killers.

The waterboarding sequences, which are quite graphic, add a reality to the toughness of their world. The bleak moments continue when we see the flashbacks to how Anna ended up in the run-down building as a child. Finally, there is the ending, which perfectly encapsulates this dark tone.

Not that the film does not have its humorous moments. There is a wonderful dinner scene at a restaurant where Anna and Michael point different handguns below the table at each other’s private parts while engaging in witty banter.

The sexual chemistry between Michael and Anna is palpable and believable. They are two fish from the same pond bound by grim realities that may impede the success of their relationship.

The action scenes personify the typical unrealistic movie convention of people undergoing severe beatings and suffering little physical consequence. But the fight scenes are well staged and choreographed. There is one in particular with Michael Keaton on the streets of Da Nang that is particularly well-done. Who would have thought of Michael Keaton as an action figure?

The plot supports these scenes with an interesting story line. There are plenty of surprises which seem organic rather than contrived. The dialogue is well-written. The film ends in the only way that it realistically could, which is to its credit.

The sets are top-notch. The bookstore alone with its beautiful shelves, window lighting, and tables is a bibliophile’s dream. The cinematography is clear and crisp, especially in the night scenes.

Second-act Michael Keaton is a revelation in this picture. Ever since “Birdman,” he has taken on some very interesting roles. This one as an urbane fixer for a respected man who actually is an evil criminal ends up being perfect for him.

Maggie Q and Samuel L. Jackson add to the acting chops. Jackson is his usual inimitable self. I think that we take for granted how easily he makes a role believable. Maggie Q’s performance speaks to her character’s role as a survivor.

This is a picture that deserves its R rating. It’s not just the violence, which can be quite bloody, but also the tone of the violence.

I thoroughly recommend this film for lovers of action films and thrillers.

Four and a half out of five stars

Rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) and trained in the family business, Anna (Maggie Q) is the world’s most skilled contract killer. But when Moody – the man who was like a father to her and taught her everything she needs to know about trust and survival – is brutally killed, Anna vows revenge. As she becomes entangled with an enigmatic killer (Michael Keaton) whose attraction to her goes way beyond cat and mouse, their confrontation turns deadly, and the loose ends of a life spent killing will weave themselves ever tighter.

Cast: Maggie Q, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Robert Patrick
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Screenplay by: Arthur Sarkissian