Protagonist Nick is a Hong Kong police officer but has never been inside a court or a police station; he has spent his career deep undercover. It has taken eight years but now he has the evidence to bring down Lin Quin, AKA The Banker. However his bosses would rather he remained undercover; he has gained Lin Quin's trust and is being groomed to take over the business; if he remains in place he will learn who is higher up the chain. Nick has never really thought about those who use the drugs but learns just how bad it is for them when he befriends his neighbour; a young mother who has left her junkie husband but is struggling to break the habit she picked up while with him
she tells Nick that she only took heroin to prove it was easy to quit but soon learnt that it wasn't easy at all.
Having seen a few Hong Kong crime dramas I was expecting full on action like that found in John Woo's films; this however is quite different. Protégé is a more thoughtful film showing us the isolation of our protagonist as he works to bring down the people who are his closest friends. At no point is heroin glamorised; those who use it are wretched, slaves to their addiction who will do whatever it takes to get their fix. While this isn't an action film there are moments of violence, some of which are quite shocking although none of it is as shocking as the sight of a dead addict crawling with rats a truly disturbing scene. The cast do a fine job; Daniel Wu was solid as Nick and Hong Kong film veteran Andy Lau is great as Lin Quin; depicting him as a businessman whose business happens to be illegal rather than as a cartoonish villain. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who likes their thrillers gritty rather than action packed.
These comments are based on watching the series in Cantonese with English subtitles.
Having seen a few Hong Kong crime dramas I was expecting full on action like that found in John Woo's films; this however is quite different. Protégé is a more thoughtful film showing us the isolation of our protagonist as he works to bring down the people who are his closest friends. At no point is heroin glamorised; those who use it are wretched, slaves to their addiction who will do whatever it takes to get their fix. While this isn't an action film there are moments of violence, some of which are quite shocking although none of it is as shocking as the sight of a dead addict crawling with rats a truly disturbing scene. The cast do a fine job; Daniel Wu was solid as Nick and Hong Kong film veteran Andy Lau is great as Lin Quin; depicting him as a businessman whose business happens to be illegal rather than as a cartoonish villain. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who likes their thrillers gritty rather than action packed.
These comments are based on watching the series in Cantonese with English subtitles.