It’s a great time to be a movie fan if you love kickass woman assassins and action heroes.
Hitting South African cinemas this Friday, September 10, is stylish action thriller The Protégé, which gives the very underrated Maggie Q (of Nikita, Designated Survivor and Divergent fame) a long-overdue starring role in a genre she excels at.
Q plays Anna, who is rescued in childhood by the legendary assassin, Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) and trained in the family business. Fast forward into adulthood, and Anna is the world’s most skilled contract killer. But when Moody himself is assassinated, Anna vows revenge on those responsible. That pits her against Michael Rembrandt (Michael Keaton), a seasoned killer. Complications arise, though, when a complex attraction develops between the pair.
So why should you be excited about The Protégé?
Maggie Q, who trained under Jackie Chan at the start of her acting career, does almost all her own stunts in the movie (as usual for the athletic actress). The movie sees Michael Keaton in morally complicated villain mode. And The Protégé is directed by Martin Campbell, who has arguably helmed two of the best James Bond films, Casino Royale and GoldenEye, in addition to Jackie Chan’s recent gritty gear shift The Foreigner.
With comparisons to John Wick, The Protégé is something to seek out if you like your action movies stylish, dark and brutal.