Reviewed by: ekisha Date: 03/11/2009 Summary: Good enough.. Actually i don't like Daniel Wu,so it was hard for me to enter the disc & watch this.Well,he didn't annoy me this time.So i enjoyed this flick.All credits to Derek Yee...... BTW,If you know real drug addicts then you'll see good points of this movie:something may be unbelievable but yet realistic and TRUE. Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 12/20/2007 Summary: Average but i like how the talk about the issues of drugs Firstly i cant help but comment on Louis Koo looking like a drug addict, i minor role for him, i wonder why he took it!! When i watched this, i felt like nothing much happened. The story just plods along to its predictable conclusion. What i am impressed with is showing how drug addicts are!! Its a little stereotypical but it shows how much it can ruin peoples lives and the lives around them. The ending was sweet and the little girl was there to add effect, just by her innocence alone and the things she does is quite enjoyable to watch. Worth a once watch but thats about it Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: steve_cole1 Date: 10/16/2007 Summary: good first hour then absolute rubbish After the first 10 minutes i thought this film was going to be like IA (in film quality not storyline) but i was wrong . The story sort of got lost and the ending of Andy Laus character was poor . I was really disappointed with this film as it had seemed great from the trailer and other comments. Reviewer Score: 5

Reviewed by: bkasten Date: 09/04/2007 Summary: Thought provoking Once again, if nothing else, we are given a Derek Yee film that provokes thought. And while I recommend viewing this film, and most other films purporting to be serious, I can also say that the "thought" that the film provokes is overwhelmingly negative; in some cases, it is thoroughly revolting. Unfortunately, while there is a very disturbing message in this film, the delivery is so marred by serious lapses in believability, it renders the film a failure. If you have not seen the film, I urge you to stop reading. It's difficult to critique this film without revealing key plot features. ******* SPOLIERS FOLLOW ********* The negativity certainly cannot be pinned on the performances. Andy Lau is perfect, as usual, and performs particularly well alongside the by-now-typically-cast Daniel "Hong Kong My Ass" Wu as the laughably-bad-Cantonese-speaking semi-sociopath(ic cop, in this case [although his actual role matters very little in these "Derek Yee noir" pieces like this and "One Night in Monkok"]). Anyone remember "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"? The sleazy actor that played Mike Damone (a nobody named Robert Romanus) reminds me a lot of Daniel Wu; and I just cannot shake that image in my mind. ...but I digress. Surprisingly (pleasantly so), good old Derek himself turns up in the film in a minor supporting role...and also puts in a very nice performance as Danny's boss in the not-quite-believable situation where a deep undercover cop (7 years undercover, we are told) meets directly with his boss on what appears to be a fairly regular basis. Almost too predictably, the film starts by taking us into the life of an undercover narcotics cop who JUST HAPPENS to be living right next to a junky...who, also, just happens to have a very adorable little daughter. Even more predictably, she (the neighbor) and he (the cop) become friends. This rapidly leads to one of the most appallingly-gratuitous-yet-completely-absurd fuck-scenes (for lack of a better description) I have ever seen in any R-rated (or Category II) movie. I didn't know whether to laugh-out-loud, cry, or avert my vision. At some point during the excruciatingly long scene, I did all three. Eventually she (the neighbor) starts to lean on the Wu character for help...and he steadfastly refuses to help...although he seems to take an interest in helping out the little girl by feeding her on occasions when her mom is too messed up to function. Next, we have Louis Koo turning up as the junky-boyfriend, and father of said little girl. Louis has enough problems acting in the usual fluff roles he plays. Here, he takes the junky role a little too far over the top, such that the film digresses and regresses into the realm of slapstick. And to reinforce the slapstick theme, we are taken into a situation where more gratuity is thrown our way in the form of a meaningless plot diversion leading to a severed hand (severed in a thoroughly unbelievable fashion), which is in turn picked up by a random character, and the severed hand actually moves, eliciting a Marx-brothersesque reaction on the part of the random character. The entire scene was just so obviously irrelevant. And was apparently missed by the editor. What were these people thinking? At this point my jaw hit the floor...but it was to get even worse... The heart of this film ultimately revolves around the undercover cop (Wu) deeply befriended and setting-up the drug-dealing kingpin (Andy Lau's character). And, note: not only does the cop befriend the family, but he starts to engage in a sexual relationship with the kingpin's much-younger-than-Danny teenage daughter...knowing full-well that he would ultimately reveal his identity and the relationship would be revealed to be a sham, likely causing deep emotional trauma to the innocent teenage daughter. This aspect of the film was so deeply appalling to this reviewer, coupled with the fact that is was so vastly underplayed to the point of being far more that gratuitous--the film now became thoroughly offensive. During all this, the Wu character's inaction, despite serious pleas for help, leads almost directly to the (hideously depicted) death of his junky neighbor...effectively leaving her daughter orphaned after the Wu character "tricks" the father into signing over legal custody to Wu, in what has to be the the absolute height of unbelievability in this film--which is saying an awful lot. And on top of all that, this was in the context of the father (Koo) making jokes about actually raping his own daughter. The notion that we are to take seriously the ability of this detestable undercover cop to raise a young girl, thoroughly relegates this film to something that should not be taken even remotely seriously, on top of being thoroughly offensive. And, finally and anti-climactically, we have Wu emotionlessly allowing the kingpin to bleed to death in his arms. What a shock... I suppose the film's (failed) message is arguing the position that, essentially, nobody wins whenever drugs are involved. They destroy everybody. Fine. We know. The secondary, and likely inadvertent, message is that a lot of the problems are caused and/or exacerbated by the way the drug laws are enforced...and the sort of people that actually enforce the laws are worse than the criminals they are trying to catch. Every step of the way, the cop (Wu) character, somewhat (again) inadvertently I believe, is revealed to be so thoroughly inhuman that one almost loses hope for humanity. My hope for the script was lost early in the film. Amusingly, there are long stretches of the film where the script sounds like an HK Police propaganda piece (positioned to justify the existence and funding of a drug enforcement system that hurts more people than it helps, and is ultimately doomed to failure). I suspect portions of the script were either lifted from, or penned by a HK drug enforcement P.R. department. It added a very surreal aspect to the film. We certainly weren't going into this looking for a Disney family film. This reviewer has a long appreciation for noir. This is not that. This goes further. Yet does not go anywhere at all, and ultimately fails in the spectacular fashion it deserves. If there are redeeming qualities here, it is in the various actor's excellent individual performances. Very small consolation indeed. See the film. It will provoke thought. Reviewer Score: 4

Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 06/09/2007 Summary: 8.5/10 - sure to be considered one of 2007's best films A cop (Daniel Wu) spends seven years undercover with a drug baron (Andy Lau), of necessity doing some shady things to earn his trust, and to eventually become his protege so that more of the supply chain can be exposed. A chance encounter with a junkie mother makes him wonder whether the means can justify the ends. Derek Yee has come along way from the boyish martial arts star at Shaw Brothers to one of the most interesting writer/directors in 21st Century Hong Kong cinema. Here, he crafts an intriguing study of the heroin market, all the way from the top to the bottom. The detail seems very convincing, and prevents the film from becoming a Reefer Madness style farce - despite coming down firmly on the 'drugs are bad, mmkay' side of the fence. Daniel Wu gives a good performance in the central role, and Andy Lau is as confident and charming as ever (not his best work, but respectable). The rather lovely Zhang Ying-Chu gives the most striking performance, sometimes coming a little close to the theatrical but never to the point of being unconvincing. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Louis Koo - never the best of actors, but especially unsuited for this role... he definitely lets the side down whenever he's on screen, which at least isn't too often. The cinematography is excellent, the soundtrack mostly unobtrusive but good when I noticed it, and the small amount of action is quite nicely done (and quite amusing, in a twisted way). No doubt we will be agreeing that this was one of 2007's best Hong Kong films at the end of the year. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 05/18/2007 Drugs and their use have long been regarded with an evil eye by many people in Hong Kong. Just the possession of a small amount can lead to serious jail time, and even the suggestion of drug use can be critically damaging to a star's career. They have long been a touchy subject in movies as well. Sometimes even the mere showing of someone taking them can earn a film a Category III (roughly equivalent to the US' NC-17) rating. So it's probably not surprising that there haven't been too many Hong Kong movies which center around the world of drugs, at least with any sort of degree of seriousness. So Protege -- especially since it stars Andy Lau and Daniel Wu, two of Hong Kong's biggest stars -- became one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2007. This reviewer can not only say that Protege lived up to the hype, it surpassed it in spades. Most modern Hong Kong movies (hell, entries from anywhere in the world, really) wish they could be this good. Protege's story is a well-traveled path in the realm of Triad pictures, that of the undercover cop getting in too deep. The cop in question is Nick (Daniel Wu), who has spent the last eight years infiltrating a large drug-running operation led by a Triad boss named Quin (Andy Lau). Quin is terminally ill and looking for a successor. Nick is tapped to become the next big boss and seems to have the undercover operation well in hand, until he meets a junkie (Zhang Jing-Chu) and her child, which begins to blur the lines between right and wrong in Nick's mind. This sort of plot, of course, has been done many times before. But director Derek Yee creates a believeable and realistic world. As with his One Nite in Mongkok, Yee produces a outstanding movie out of stock elements. Forgoing the melodrama favored by many directors in the genre, Protege never feels like an afterschool special or an obvious morality tale, even though there is undeniably an extremely strong anti-drug message. Much of the credit to this has to be given to the two leads. Andy Lau seems to have settled comfortably into his role as the elder of Hong Kong cinema. A few years ago, a role like Quin's would probably just cause Andy to sit around and grimace slightly, but here he creates a very well-rounded and surprisingly sympathetic character. Daniel Wu (who, in many ways, represents the best of young guard of HK films) turns in one of his best performances to date. He plays everything very close to the vest, just like you might think a real undercover cop would. Relative newcomer Zhang Jing-Chu also does very well in what might be regulated into a "jade vase" role in other movies. Hong Kong film-makers could do well by studying Protege. A smart script, solid acting, and tight directing are the ingredients for a good motion picture -- not a bunch of CGI, sappy ballads, or cute pop stars hamming for the camera. It's movies like this which give real hope that Hong Kong cinema is not dead just yet. [review from www.hkfilm.net] Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: dandan Date: 04/20/2007 Summary: a mixed bag... nick (daniel wu) is a hong kong cop, who's been undercover for a few years, working with a drug dealer named quin (andy lau). quin's kidneys are failing, due to his diabetes, he's looking to get out of the business; nick is to take over. whilst nick is gets sucked deeper into quin's world, he befriends a heroin addict, fan (zhang jing-chu), and her daughter. nick finds himself stretched between the police, quin and fan... this is a strange film, at times it is great but, at others, it is poor. daniel wu does a good job, as does andy lau, in a role that is a little different for him. zhang jing-chu, who is great (and destined for big things), does as well as can be expected with the role of fan, as does louis koo; fan's heroin addict husband. koo has received a bit of stick, for his performance, but he isn't that bad. i find that it is very hard to portray the lives of heroin addicts (or any drug use) on film, without falling into the trappings of trite stereotypes. it is these occassional slips, which weaken the film, although i'd say that the blame lies at derek yee's door. some of the grittier quailities of 'one night in mongkok', which i thought was great, are retained, but all too frequently the narrative just doesn't seem to ring true. in particular, quin's grooming of nick seems completely unbelievable and is littered with unnecessary exposition; the films telegraphs it's narrative progression and simply plays out as you'd expect. this is very disappointing. yet, at times, the film is intense, engaging and it certainly looks and sounds great. unfortunately, no matter how well it is executed, you can't gloss over its weaknesses. a let down...