"Protege" is one of the finer films to come out of Hong Kong in recent years, plus it's hard to go wrong with a Derek Yee film. Yee has an amazing ability to direct films that are not only commercially successful, but artistically acclaimed. Yee has also succeeded in getting star quality performances from relative newcomers.

I've always thought Daniel Wu was kind of hit or miss as a leading man, but I will acknowledge that he did a fine job here, as he did in Derek Yee's "One Nite In Mongkok". It was also interesting to see him onscreen with Andy Lau, because in some ways I see a bit of a resemblance between the two--not that I'm predicting Wu will enjoy the same level of success in his career. I believe the two standout performances came from Louis Koo and Zhang Jing Chu as two individuals addicted to heroin. Zhang Jing Chu was particularly effective and was involved in many of the film's most powerful scenes.

"Protege" is also a very smart film, giving a lot of insight on the drug trade. Yee also does a fine job bringing all the characters and story full circle to the climax, where the supposed hero must put his confusion aside and make a life-altering decision.

Highly recommended.