Apr
15
2007
Protege
Posted by luna6 Leave a Comment
Movie : Protege / Moon to / 門徒
Release Date : February 13, 2007
Country : Hong Kong
Director : Derek Yee
Starring : Daniel Wu, Andy Lau
Run Time : 107 Minutes
Editor Rating : 5.9
Users Rating: 6.36 
(11 votes)
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Plot Synopsis : Quin, the reigning Heroin drug lord in Hong Kong suffers from poor health and is need of a successor. He doesn’t have any sons, so he has to pick someone from his inner circle. Quin decides to go with Nick, someone that has been faithful to him for over 8 years and is one of the more intelligent persons in his inner circle. What Quin does not realize is that Nick is an undercover cop, planted by the Hong Kong police force to bring down Quin’s drug empire.
Movie Review : Protege is a very Hollywood’esque type of Hong Kong movie dealing with the familiar subject of drugs, drug dealers, and cops. I haven’t watched one of these HK crime thrillers in ages, mainly because so many seemed to be a retread of Infernal Affairs. In retrospect, maybe I picked the wrong movie to jump back into the HK crime genre with, because “Protege” has a whole lot of similarities to Infernal Affairs.
First and foremost you’ll recognize Andy Lau appearing in Protege, but this time around he plays more of a supporting role similar to a Don Corleone type of character. Unfortunately, Andy Lau’s character “Quin” doesn’t have any sons so he needs to find a successor soon, due to his deteriorating health. In a familiar Infernal Affairs type of gaffe, Quin picks Nick as his heir apparent. Nick, played by Daniel Wu, is an undercover cop planted for the sole purpose of bringing down Quin’s drug empire. One of the first scenes in the movie also has a similar Infernal Affairs type of scene involving several cop cars tailing drug dealers out to make a drug deal. The cop cars are all being relayed real time information via cellphones by other cops monitoring the drug dealer’s movements.
Fortunately after this chase scene, the movie breaks from the Infernal Affairs formula by shifting focus to the dealers involved in drug trafficking and the devastating effects it has on its users.
What I liked about Protege – The little girl that played Jane’s daughter was cute as can be and did a wonderful performance, especially considering her age. The film also takes an unexpected diversion into the remote Thai area overlapping the Golden Triangle. During these scenes in Thailand, the viewer is treated to scenes of mammoth elephants, Thai rebel soldiers, and colorful opium poppy fields. The movie also goes into a surprisingly detailed overview of the entire Heroin making process. This would have been the most original aspect of Protege. Finally, Daniel Wu gave a very solid performance and his character was very personable.
What I didn’t like about Protege – The movie was often shot in this slick MTV style, which I found off-putting. Most of the drug scenes involving Jane was filmed in this style, as well as the sex scene between Jane and Nick. Also, Jane at times looked like she was doing a modern art dance while getting high or convulsing from an overdose. Finally, the whole theme of the dangers of drugs and the undercover cop working for the drug dealers was typical stuff that someone could have written in 15 minutes while sitting on the can.
In retrospect “Protege” covers a very familiar topic (drugs/drug dealers/cops) and doesn’t bring anything new to the table – except those 15 minutes spent in Thailand. I would guess if you like action movies/crime thrillers, especially the Hong Kong variety, you will enjoy Protege a whole lot more than I did. There’s really no glaring faults in the movie, but then again there’s nothing in this movie you haven’t seen before. Drugs are bad – we know that. Undercover cop feels almost loyal to the people he is out to bust – we have seen that. Big crime lord gets caught in the end – we have definitely seen that. With that in mind, if you asked me to sum up “Protege” in a few lines, I would use the line that Quin often repeated to Nick, which was “…never take risks.” A mantra that the filmmakers truly took to heart.
Cast:
Andy Lau – Lin Quin
Daniel Wu – NickLouis Koo – Jane’s Husband
Anita Yuen – Quin’s Wife
Jingchu Zhang – Jane
Mei-tian He – Sister of Quin’s wife
Kai Chi Liu – Head of Customs Officers
Tung-Shing Yee – Officer Miu Chi-wah
Bo Yuen – Cal
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2007 Movie Reviews, Chinese Movies, Movie Reviews, Movies |