Every Chinese new year, there will be a torrent of movies cashing in on the festive season. With stars like Andy Lau, Daniel Wu and Louis Koo at its helm, its no surprise that Protege is a leading picture for the coveted red packet.
The theme of the movie, however, clashes with the joyous mood of the new year. Protege is about drugs; something you will not associate with the new year. The story evolves around an undercover, Nick, (Daniel Wu), who was sent to infiltrate Kwan (Andy Lau), the kingpin of the drugs industry in Hong Kong. It sounds familiar isn't it? It is easy to mistake Protege as another Infernal Affairs, but the focus of this film is not on the undercover but on drugs.
The effort director (Yee Tung Shing) puts in is for all to see. Through this film, we can understand the process of manufacturing the drugs and their different names.Be prepared to be amaze by the lingo used in the picture. It gets a bit documented at times, especially the part when Kwan and Nick visit the Golden Triangle. Surprisingly the rating for this movie is only NC16 and not M18, it might be due to the fact that it is here to educate not corrupt.
Not only do we know more about the drugs industry, the ill effects of drugs are shown in a straightforward and strange way. The demented performance by drug addict, Jane (Zhang Jing Chu), puts a touch of horror into the show. Not as queasy as Requiem for a Dream, definitely, but Protege still succeeded in injecting the fear in you. Safe performances by the other actors, nothing stellar and out of this world.
The last scene, though i thought was a tad disturbing, epitomizes the entire show. Because in times of adversity and misdirection, hope still prevails.
3.5
txq
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