Lisa Johnson Mandell’s The Protege review says the surprising chemistry between Michael Keaton and Maggie Q ignites the screen.

Dangerous women in black bobs with bangs. They’ve been a thing in Hollywood since the Jazz Age. My favorites through the decades have been Angelica Huston in Prizzi’s Honor, Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, and now Maggie Q in The Protege, (soon, to be followed by Meng’er Zhang in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but that’s a whole ‘nother review.)

In her long awaited and much deserved starring role, Q steals The Protege show. She plays Anna, a by no means helpless Vietnamese orphan, rescued from a tragic plight by nefarious but kind weapons expert Moody, played by Samuel L. Jackson, who we saw earlier this summer as another assassin in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard — type casting, anyone?

Much violence and killing ensues, so visceral it makes you physically wince, as Anna sets out to avenge her mentor. Along the way she meets up with a suave and sophisticated “security expert” (a surprisingly sexy Michael Keaton) with whom a crackling chemistry ignites. Too bad he turns out to be on the other side.

The fight scenes are well choreographed and expertly edited, made all the more breathtaking by the fact that Maggie Q is doing most of her own stunts, after suffering a back injury.

It’s also exciting to see the smoldering sparks fly from a remarkably fresh looking, 69-year-old Michael Keaton, who is able to convincingly deliver lines something like, “Are you going to kill me or f___ me?” without making you cringe, even though you know it’s coming.

And that’s my one problem with The Protege. There’s not a lot you don’t see coming, save for the puzzling and needlessly complicated denouement. It’s a standard genre pic, right down to the black bob with bangs and the casting of Jackson as a hitman. Still, it’s wildly entertaining.

Rated R

1 Hour 49 Minutes

If Lisa Johnson Mandell’s The Protege review sends you racing to the theater to see it, find tickets and times at a theater near you on Fandango.com.

Lisa Johnson Mandell’s The Protege review says the surprising chemistry between Michael Keaton and Maggie Q ignites the screen.