Protégé (2007)
7.4
A gripping, devastating thriller that doesn’t take the easy path in the organized crime formula
Movie
China, Hong Kong
Cantonese, English, Thai
Drama, Thriller
2007
DEREK YEE TUNG-SING
Andy Lau, Andy Lau Tak-Wah, Anita Yuen Wing-Yee
106 min
TLDR
Most films would tell you not to do drugs, period. Protégé tells you not to do drugs, or you might have to reckon with the person that you’ve become…
What it's about
After spending the last seven years undercover in a drug ring, special agent Lee Chi-lik, or Nick, is taken by surprise when the ailing Lam Kwan, the biggest player in the local heroin market, names Nick as his protégé.
The take
Crime thrillers have plenty of cops undercover, so Hong Kong’s Protégé won’t be the most unique and extraordinary entry that we’ve ever seen in the genre. But, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. It’s a bit formulaic, but the film takes what’s best about the genre– the life-or-death stakes, the drama inherent in mistrust and betrayal, and the trickery each of the characters have to employ in order to survive this cutthroat world– and infuses it into a sharp, suspenseful script, without any of the usual platitudes on drugs. And they got some of the best of the biz in the cast, with Daniel Wu and Andy Lau making the most out of the film’s devastating conclusion. Protégé isn’t totally new, but it takes what’s tried and tested to bring together a great story and a great cast.
What stands out
Lowkey haunted by some of the performances here. The bathroom scene, of course, as well as what they found the bodies in the home… The way Kwan and Nick have to reckon with that they’ve done… It’s just pure cinema.
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