When i first saw just a label on this DVD, my first thought was, another karate film with some gang stuff. But i must tell you that i am not often so pleasantly surprised about one movie, like with this one. It is not only dark world of heroin users,dealers, cops etc. this movie is much more. It is a very deep story which keeps you in it for a whole movie and makes you feel despair,wonder,ill and even sometimes makes you laugh. It is not possible that this movie will not touch you deep in your heart, the scenes with addict mother and her small daughter, are simply heartbreaking.Specially recommending for people who had some personal drug experience.

Andy Lau stars in another cop undercover tale. Daniel Wu plays Nick who is working for the cops and is also close to the top of a drug dealing gang(Lau). The movie begins as we watch the police try to make a drug bust only to see it go to pieces. We then are introduced to the young drug addicted mother and her daughter living near Nick and to his cronies and the cops, and 45 minutes in I shut off the movie and put on the news. Well acted and great to look at this is as uninvolving a movie as I've seen in a long time. Its not bad as such its just you really don't care. I mean I really didn't care at all. I actually started to do something else completely forgetting I had on a subtitled movie on, thats how much I didn't care. I wish I could have hated the film but the film is such a nonentity that it made almost no impression on me (its not even something I could sleep to its just something to ignore). Come on the box called it the Chinese Scarface,what after he was dead? This is one to avoid.

One of the highly anticipated films of the year, Derek Yee's 'Protege' brings together Andy Lau and Daniel Wu in a tale centred around the world of drug trafficking in Asia.Nick (Daniel Wu) is a young and ambitious cop who has been working undercover in a drug ring headed by diabetic crime-lord Lai (Andy Lau). During a long course of being undercover, Nick has been able to gain the trust and support of Lai by doing may things against his duty as a policeman - and he is chosen to be his 'protege'. During this he meets Jane (Zhang Jingchu), a young mother who has become an addict due to her husbands' (Louis Koo) actions. While expressing sympathy for Jane's daughter, Jane ends up falling for Nick - but he cannot see past the point that his actions are responsible for people like her becoming addicts. Thus Nick feels the need to reform and do his bit for society.The film itself resembles Steven Soderbergh's award-winning 'Traffic', the world of drug trafficking is shown in different perspectives. Derek Yee uses detailed character work, exploratory cinematography and visually impeccable locations. Like his previous film 'One Nite In Mongkok' Yee uses the camera and characters to bring the locations to life - highlight being scenes shot at the Golden Triangle - an area of Hong Kong where a lot of the drug-trafficking and production takes place.Daniel Wu seems to improve with every film he does, this time he plays a rather mixed up man that is guilt ridden by his actions.. where as Andy Lau plays a negative character with ease, looking at the drug trade as pure business: supply and demand. Zhang Jingshu steals the show from everyone as a junkie mother living in a run-down apartment. For instance, the opening shots where she's shown shooting up - no dialogue yet physically expressing her character with such brilliance (her daughter coming into-the shot just touches so deep, hard to not be compelled). Louis Koo proves to be above average as a very unlikeable addict and manages not to overact at times. Support cast such as Anita Yuen and Mei Tan-Hei are underused and represented as one-dimensional characters. The script is rather tightly wove, that is until the end where it just follows a conventional ending and stating that 'Drugs are bad', which does make the effort seem rushed. But amazing direction, notable performances and a rather interesting point makes 'Protege' a one-of-a-kind Hong Kong movie. There are some action sequences which carry tension,and the chemistry between the main cast carries off as really convincing. This is the kind of movie that a lot of film buffs would love to see: its smart, gritty, intense and shocking. One of the best Hong Kong movies of the year, if not one of the best movies of the year.Highly recommended.

Boosting some of Hong Kong's film industry biggest with producer Peter Chan (Perhaps Love) and director Derek Yee (C'est La Vie and One Night in Mongkok), "Protégé" looks set to become this Hong Kong biggest film this Chinese New Year.The Protégé here is Nick (Daniel Wu), trained to take over Jong's (Andy Lau) heroin trafficking business, but is in fact a police officer. His inner conflict is between the loyalty towards his 'teacher', and duty towards his job and justice. Things get more complicated when he falls in love with a heroin-addict (Zhang Jingchu), forced to detriment by her husband (Louis Koo).The story of an undercover police would remind many of "Infernal Affairs", especially when both stars Andy Lau. The difference lies in its subtlety. While there are still police chase scenes and fights, the focus of the film is on the character development more than its actions.Daniel has proved his acting abilities in One Night In Mongkok. Though he is playing the lead role in "Protégé", his character lacks of a very distinct quality to showcase his acting skills. This is so for Andy Lau's 'baddie' role as well, and you can't put across strongly how you should feel for him. Anita Yuen has very little screen time, perhaps due to the fact she was six months pregnant, and there could be more chemistry between her and Andy Lau.The scene stealer is the refreshing China actress Zhang Jingchu who breathes an air of vulnerability and frenzy as a woman forced by circumstances. We should expect more from her as she moves on to a Hollywood in Rush Hour 3. Louis Kook, in stained teeth and tattered clothes, changes his image successfully playing her abusive husband.Starting off slowly, the movie picks up after moving to the Golden Triangle, where audience are treated to the eye-opening sight of heroin plantations and produce."Protégé" may not be adrenalin pumping or mass audience entertainment, as director Derek Yee probably wanted to weave in a social message in a subtle and restrained manner. The last scene was enough for me to understand the story, though you wished he had pushed the movie forward a little more.http://themovieclub.blogspot.com