Their explosive hand-to-hand combat sequence – in which they trash a home and then have sex – is straight out of MR. They have an undeniable heat and scorching chemistry. Q and Keaton’s unflinching, unwavering performances, combined with camera placement and snappy editing, heighten the mood. Anna and Michael’s spirited, sexy repartee and banter capture the sexual tension and release of BODY HEAT. Anna’s jog set to a classic Nina Simone track (“Feeling Good”) recalls POINT OF NO RETURN and that protagonist’s fondness of the singer. The narrative initially grounds Anna and Moody in a LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL-inspired relationship, but blossoms from that backstory. Photo Credit: Simon Varsano/LionsgateĬampbell and screenwriter Richard Wenk pull from well-known references within genre filmmaking, but express ingenuity in their homages. The matter becomes more pressing with each new clue unearthed, as the higher-ups want her dead before she discovers their evil-doings. As Moody’s old pal Billy Boy (Robert Patrick) exhausts his informational resources, Anna fends off the advances of Michael Rembrandt (Michael Keaton), a private spook hired by a slippery benefactor to put a stop to her investigation. Her investigation into Lucas’ hidden whereabouts brings her back to Vietnam – a place marked by deep-seated psychological trauma (that you can probably guess without the gratuitously expository flashback tacked onto the third act). Moody turns up dead around the same time as he enlists Anna’s help on a new case involving Lucas Hayes (Dimitar Nikolov), the mysterious, reclusive son of a slain billionaire businessman convicted of war crimes.

However, she’s about to face her biggest challenge yet. She gets just as much of a kick carrying out hits as she does selling a rare book to high-market clientele through her London-based business front. He adopted her, becoming her handler/ father-figure, training her in the cold art of contract killing. Jackson) found her orphaned in Vietnam – right after she killed a bunch of baddies. When she was a child, soldier-of-fortune Moody (Samuel L. With a dynamic heroine who is allowed to demonstrate her own agency, the story spun is an exciting, scintillating thrill-ride.Īnna (Maggie Q) is one of the world’s best assassins. Director Martin Campbell’s THE PROTEGE is no exception, but also excels beyond the expected. A recent resurgence of Western releases (films like JOHN WICK, ATOMIC BLONDE, GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE and the soon-to-be-released KATE) rest on the foundation built by badass Hong Kong films before them. Though pure-grade action films are in danger of becoming homogenized, there’s still a lot of wiggle room for filmmakers to innovate on the ever-popular traumatized assassin archetype.

Jackson, Michael Keaton, Dimitar Nikolov, Robert Patrick

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