The Protégé - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Protégé



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
I’m not really sure I should be comparing them, but The Protege really feels like a hybrid between The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (also from Lionsgate this years) and Maggie Q’s TV series Nikita. Now, don’t get me wrong, The Protege is not a hugely slapstick comedy like The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, but it has ELEMENTS of it (Samuel L. Jackson of course appearing in both), as it tries to operate on the bounds of a much more serious spy drama ala Nikita, yet seems to want fall back on some of the obviously cheesy and humorous elements that really remind me of the Ryan Reynolds blockbluster.

Coming into the movie without any previous hints about the films premise outside of the trailer had me thinking this was going to be a film adaptation of the Nikita storyline, with Maggie Q. once more showing the world that she’s a big bad assassin with lots of guns, high flying kicks, and a gorgeous physique to back it up. Her mentor Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) is murdered by the son of an old target, and Anna (Maggie Q.) decides that it’s time that she take up the mantel of her mentor and take out some good old fashioned revenge on those responsible.

Anna’s mission of vengeance soon lands her on the right trail, as well as gets a target on her back when said villains sends his own squad of hitmen on her lead by the devilishly handsome Rembrandt (Michael Keaton). The two have sparks for sure, but those sparks may soon ignite a vat of gunpowder in their world as Anna’s single minded focus brings her closer and closer to the vengeance she so desperately craves.

According to several of the special features, writer Richard Wenk said several times that his goal of the film was to create something “more” than just your typical action piece, and instead make a story with good characters, strong motivations, and some surprises. However I think he really only succeeded with the first portion of his goal, and that is to create good fight scenes. The movies best part is the high flying action sequences, whether it be Maggie Q. pulling off her Nikita stuff, or watching Michael Keaton lay waste to a bunch of baddies 2/3rds his age (that fight scene where he’s ambushed is one of the best parts of the movie). The rest of the movie is your typical actioneer stuff, but a Wenk can’t seem to decide whether he’s going for straight laced spy movie, or a comedy action flick.

Samuel L. Jackson does what he does best, and this is be Samuel L. Jackson. He spouts his typical MF lines a few instances, and hams it up on screen as only he can. Also Maggie Q. and Michael Keaton’s chemistry comes across as hilariously hammy and cheesy. Especially when they go mano e mano in the apartment and end of fighting to a Marvin Gaye esque romance song. It just feels so rote and cheesy that you can see most of the beats coming. Even the serious parts don’t really strike home simply due to the fact that the comedy keeps interrupting the heavier and weightier dramatic moments really has the audience feeling like they’re in two different films.




Rated PG-13 for strong violence, disturbing images, suggestive content, partial nudity and brief strong language




4K Video: Video:

I can’t find any DEFINITIVE proof of what digital intermediate master was used for The Protege, but I’m really guessing that this was a native 4K master simply due to how fantastic the digital image looks. Very few upscales can look this crisp and clear without being a native 4K master. However, this is pure guess work as I could find no definitive proof one way or the other on the resolution of said master. However, I did dig up that the film was shot using Arri Alexa mini cameras, so my guess about a 4K master is most likely true.

Moving on from that guesswork, the 4K UHD disc is a fantastic looking image, almost as perfect as an upgrade as the demo worthy Blu-ray is. Comparing directly to the Blu-ray reveals tons of fine details (such as in the Vietnamese marketplace) that wasn’t easily visible on the Blu-ray, as well as deeper blacks, better color replication, and generally a better looking image all around. The movie can be very dim and dark, but the shadows and deep inky blacks don’t cause a problem whatsoever. The colors of Anna’s red dress in the restaurant are jaw dropping to behold, as is intimate clothing details and blood and grime. There’s some obvious CGI work with some of the gun battles, but nothing that really takes you out of the picture. A very VERY nice 4K UHD disc all around.







Audio:

Lionsgate does the same thing as Universal and puts the Atmos track on both the Blu-ray and the 4K UHD, so this portion of the review will remain constant over both reviews. The audio mix is absolutely perfect. The Atmos mix is a rip roaring action track extraordinaire, with absolutely soul crushing bass and wild surround activity. There’s nary a minute of the film where some sort of gunfight or action set piece is going on, and the gut buster of a track just grabs you by the ears and throws you around the room with all of the gunfire, bodies slamming through walls, and general mayhem and chaos. The mix isn’t overly unbalanced either, as you can hear quiet dialog moments between Rembrandt and Anna, only for the track to blow up with all sorts of excitement the next moment. Simply put, this is reference quality audio that had me grinning from ear to ear.





Extras:

• "Scars of the Past: Making The Protégé Featurette
• "Anna vs Rembrandt" Featurette
• Deleted Scene
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score:
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Keaton is fantastic in the role of the rival assassin, and Maggie Q. is well placed in her action lead role due to her past with Nikita. It’s not the greatest movie on earth, but there are more than enough fight scenes to keep you interested, and the audio and video are jaw dropping. The 4K UHD is a great disc, handily out classing the phenomenal Blu-ray and while the pacing of the movie could use some work, it was still fun as a dumb action comedy/thriller.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Maggie Q., Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, David Rintoul, Robert Patrick, Ray Fearon
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Written by: Richard Wenk
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 109 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 19th, 2021

Recommendation: Cheesy Watch