Our 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.
Streaming arrival
The story
A special agent has for 8 years been deep undercover in Asia's lucrative organized crime trade as he plays protégé to one of the key players, Banker. Now, Nick has but he has started to feel loyalty to his new environment and to the money.
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.
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.
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…
The details
Who picked it
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
