La protegida

Maggie Q is a very sexy Jane Wick as The Protégé! Martin Campbell has done Casino Royale, Goldeneye, The Legend of Zorro and The Foreigner, so he's not exactly your average action routine director and he's delivered a likeable action ride that doesn't bring much new to the genre story-wise, but doesn't put the genre to shame, and of the recent Female assassin hero films I enjoyed Protégé the most. I was surprised by Maggie Q, who not only has sex appeal to spare, but also acts well and is no slouch in action. I was also surprised by Michael Keaton, who enjoys his villain role, and the clashes between them are decent. The kill me or fuck me twist is downright excellent. Apart from the actors, I enjoyed the awesome visuals, the great clear cinematography, the decent action – it’s beautifully R-rated, with enough blood here for my satisfaction by American standards. For me this is a simple but entertaining enough action one-shot that I definitely wasn't expecting before watching it. Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 4/5. 7/10. (27.08.2021)

Colombiana, Ava, Atomic Blonde, The Protégé and many others. Over the last decade, the bag of badass action heroines has been ripped open, but there are few with a distinctive signature and innovative elements. Perhaps the only one worth mentioning is the heroine played by Charlize Theron, who a few years ago showed a new level of female action filmmaking with her stunning stunt performances and hard-to-beat physical condition. The rest, including the latest film by Martin Campbell, an otherwise seasoned hotshot with a handful of hits to his credit as a director, sort of follows the same old playbook with little to stand on. And this film with Maggie Q, who clearly wanted a very A-list role and apparently wasn't too expensive, is no different. (16.10.2021)

If you like action movies and are looking for something undemanding where you won't have to strain your brain on a hot summer afternoon, this is a safe bet. The story was undemanding, as you'd expect of a B-movie, the action scenes were well executed, which was quite surprising considering the age of most of the protagonists, and it was quite fast-paced and worked well for me. Maggie Q looked great as always, and I'm glad I'm not religious because some of her fashion choices and her mesmerizing presence would probably lead me to thoughts requiring an extraordinary confession. I strongly suspect that Samuel L. Jackson died some time ago and is now being replaced by a cyborg, but the team that created him forgot that he should still show signs of aging. As for the rest, time has not been kind to those still alive, so Robert Patrick as the tough leader of a biker gang, and Michael Keaton as the irresistible lover, seemed somewhat ridiculous. I apologize, but that's how it is. Maggie Q stood out here as a sexy nurse in a retirement home. But I digress. Within the genre, it was not a bad film and was not far from deserving of four stars. / There won't be a lesson today, as the film already contained one, and I can't imagine coming up with a better one because this spoke to me from the heart: It's a rare gift to have friends who trust you so much that they won't help you until you ask them to." 3*+. (06.07.2023)