48
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMaggie Q has been in good movies before, but The Protégé is the first movie that’s good because she’s in it.
- 67The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThe A.V. ClubJesse HassengerBeyond considerable physical presence, Q brings touches of subtlety to a stock character; by the time she makes her eventual, inevitable reference to wanting to get out of the game, there’s a genuine weariness that feels earned enough to bypass the cliché.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperThe Protégé isn’t trying to be anything more than slick, escapist action fare, but when you have the star power of the lead trio, a terrific supporting cast and what appears to be a sizable enough budget, it’s not too much to ask for a little something in the way of a cohesive script. Instead, we get two variations on the same twist, and an ending that’s both murky and irritating. Maggie Q and company deserve better.
- 50New York PostJohnny OleksinskiNew York PostJohnny OleksinskiThe Protégé should’ve been a home run for director Martin Campbell, who did brilliantly with Casino Royale, Daniel Craig’s first James Bond film. He brought seriousness to the old franchise without sacrificing its charm or decadence. Instead, we get old clichés.
- 50Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzThe Protégé has so many cool elements, so many reasons that it should be better than it is. Chief among them are Maggie Q, Keaton and Jackson. But they can only do so much, and ultimately the film feels flat. Like so many of the hapless anonymous bad guys, it just can’t hit the mark.
- 42IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichThe Protégé never even begins to cohere as a story about paying for old sins (the ending is a “huh” of the highest order), and its ostensible villain is almost a complete non-entity, but watching Q repel down the inside of a high-rise or seduce Keaton from behind the barrel of a gun makes it obvious that she knows more about selling action on screen than most Hollywood actors could ever hope to learn.
- 38Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThe script is straight-up formula, which suggests few surprises, but also that the component parts should have clicked better than they did.
- 30SlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiSlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiAll in all, The Protégé is a dull assassin movie misfire that does no justice by Maggie Q and can’t be saved even by Keaton and Jackson making a meal of their scenes.
- 30The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSans a compelling marriage of danger and eroticism, much of the third-act suspense fails to captivate
- 20IGNSiddhant AdlakhaIGNSiddhant AdlakhaThe Protégé is so bad that it feels like it has to be on purpose.