The Protégé

The Protégé is a 2021 American British spy action/thriller starring Maggie Q. It features Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson in supporting roles, directed by Martin Campbell. In this film, Anna recured the assassin that also become a generous agent. 
Released on August 20, 2021, by Lionsgate, The Protege was with positive reviews from a majority critics but did not make jillions at the box office. 
== Plot ==
Anna is an assassin raised by Moody after he discovered her in the aftermath of a massacre in Saigon, where she killed four men who had kidnapped her and murdered her family. For years, they traversed the globe and completed high-profile contracts—settling in England where she runs a rare-book store and he lives in a manor house. She first encounters Rembrandt in her store when he comes in on the pretext of buying a gift.
At present, Anna and Moody kill a Romanian mafia boss by taking his son hostage and using him as a bait. After Moody is brutally killed, Anna decides to seek vengeance. She believes that their last assassination target, Edward Hayes is involved. She therefore decides to track him down in Vietnam. While there she learns of Vohl -- Edward Hayes' assistant. She sets a meeting with Vohl, but Duquet kills him, preventing Vohl from divulging any information to Anna. Anna attacks Duquet, and is captured after a chase. Duquet tortures her to see why she is after Edward`s son. Rembrandt visits Anna in the cell and says that he, like Duquet, works for the same person, but says that his methods are apart from them and he was not involved with the shooting in the library. After Duquet leaves the gang goes to her cell and tries to hang her, but she defeats them and escapes. Rembrandt then blames Duquet and his harsh methods for her escape.
After a dinner date between Rembrandt and Anna, Rembrandt gets into a street fight with local thugs but survives. Meanwhile, Anna kills Duquet. Rembrandt arrives and sees Duquet was hung. Unaware of Anna, she ambushes him and fights with him, but in the end, they decide to have sex together. While walking in the street, Anna is then shot by one of Edward's men but is rescued by Moody, who apears to be alive. Moody reveals to her that he faked his death by disguising his attempted killer as himself and shot his attacker in the face so that he could not be identified.
Edward holds a banquet and takes extreme precautions to prevent any intrusion. Anna disguises herself as a waitress, and when she tries to assassinate Edward is detected and hampered by Rembrandt. Anna escapes during the ensuing chaos, but Rembrandt follows her. Moody meanwhile infiltrates Edward's safe-house bunker. Edward reveals that he faked his death to protect his son but Moody is not persuaded because of his misdeed. Anna escapes the banquet after Moody detonates a bomb, killing both himself and Edward.
In a flashback, Anna witnesses her mother beheading, and is then captured and taken by a gang to the location shown at the beginning of the film. The gang's leader assembles one of two disassembled pistols lying on a table while young Anna watches, memorising the steps. The mob leader briefly leaves the room. When he returns Anna kills the entire mob after assembling the second pistol.
The film returns to Rembrandt, who receives a text message from Anna. He goes to the coordinates given in the text message, and finds Anna. They aim their guns at each other and two shots are heard; Anna can be seen leaving the place.
==Cast==
* Maggie Q as Anna
* Samuel L. Jackson as Moody 
* Michael Keaton as Rembrandt
*Robert Patrick as Billy
*Patrick Malahide as Vohl
*David Rintoul as Edward 
*Ori Pfeffer as Athens
*Ray Fearon as Duquet
*Carolina Loncq as Claudia
== Production ==
In October 2017, it was announced that Gong Li had joined the cast of the film, then titled Ana, with Martin Campbell directing from a screenplay by Richard Wenk. In November 2019, it was announced Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson and Maggie Q had joined the cast of the film.
Principal photography began in January 2020 under the title The Asset. Filming took place in Bucharest, London and Da Nang.
== Release ==
The film is scheduled to release to theatres on August 20, 2021, by Lionsgate.
== Reception ==
=== Box Office ===
In the United States and Canada, The Protégé was released alongside Reminiscence, The Night House, and PAW Patrol: The Movie, and is projected to gross around $5 million from 2,500 theaters in its opening weekend.
=== Critical response ===
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 61% based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 5.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Maggie Q's still waiting for the action movie that really deserves her -- but until then, The Protégé hits just hard enough to sastify." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 76% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 50% saying they would definitely recommend it.
Marc Zirogiannis of Taekwondo Life Magazine wrote, "This stylish film is a must see for action film fans."
==Videos==
The Protégé (2021 Movie) Official Trailer - Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, and Samuel L. Jackson
Category:2021 films
Category:2021 in film
Category:2021 action films
Category:2021 American films
Category:Lionsgate films
Category:Films starring Samuel L. Jackson
Category:Spy films
Category:Spy thriller films
Category:Action thriller films
Category:Theatrical films
Category:Theatrical Films