The Protege had all the elements to be a hugely entertaining assassin, action thriller.
In it, Maggie Q stars as Anna, who, after being rescued by a legendary assassin Moody (Samuel L Jackson) as a child, is turned into the world’s most skilled contract killer. But after Moody is brutally murdered, Anna returns to her home country of Vietnam to find out who assassinated him and get revenge.
Along the way she becomes entangled with Rembrandt (Michael Keaton), another killer for hire, while she struggles to come to terms with the life that she left behind.
Q is utterly captivating all the way throughout The Protege. Not only is she effortlessly cool, stylish and beautiful, she seamlessly turns into a cold-blooded killer in the blink of an eye.
After supporting roles in the likes of Mission: Impossible III, Live Free Or Die Hard and the Divergent series, The Protege proves without any shadow of a doubt that Q deserves to be leading action films herself. Not only does she thrive during all of the set pieces, bringing a skill and energy that invigorates The Protege, her chemistry with her two co-stars is delicious to behold.
Her laid-back demeanour is the perfect foil to Jackson’s outlandish persona, while her spark with Keaton becomes more and more intense and electric the longer The Protege goes on.
The problem is, the longer The Protege goes on, the more unbalanced and needlessly complicated it becomes. After originally starting off in the vein of John Wick and Taken, it then dovetails into a buddy comedy, before flirting with drama, romance, conspiracy and war genres.
Initially, this zigzagging from one genre to another makes The Protege rather riveting. Especially since it moves from locations in Vietnam, Bucharest, London and then back to Vietnam within quick succession. Ultimately, though, The Protege can’t maintain this breakneck pace. When it finally slows down, narrative cracks emerge and the film quickly disintegrates into a tedious mess.
Which makes it all the more surprising that the director behind The Protege is action stalwart Martin Campbell, the filmmaker who resurrected the James Bond franchise twice, with GoldenEye and Casino Royale. To be fair to Campbell, even though The Protege ultimately spirals out of control, he is clearly having a ball behind the camera.
The film is visually sleek and polished throughout, while he incorporates some genuinely surprising twists and turns into the narrative that will leave you with no idea where it is actually heading. There are also some killer action sequences that he shoots with both panache and humour, and he doesn’t hold back on the blood and violence.
All of which only makes it more disappointing that The Protege doesn’t come close to sticking its ending. Despite its obvious faults and underwhelming conclusion, there’s more than enough in it to keep audiences thoroughly entertained. Now we just have to wait and hope for Q to get the action career that she so clearly deserves.
'The Protege' is out in the UAE on Thursday
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
INFO
Everton 0
Arsenal 0
Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30-December 2, at The Sevens, Dubai
Gulf Under 19
Pool A – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jumeirah College Tigers, Dubai English Speaking School 1, Gems World Academy
Pool B – British School Al Khubairat, Bahrain Colts, Jumeirah College Lions, Dubai English Speaking School 2
Pool C - Dubai College A, Dubai Sharks, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Al Yasmina
Pool D – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Deira International School
