The Protégé presents itself as a racially diverse film, and in broad strokes, that holds up.

Like Frankenheimer and Forbes before him, Campbell knows what he's doing. The Protégé may not be the director's finest hour, but that doesn't make what he's cooked up any less enjoyable.

Oscar bait, it ain't - but it's a damn good time.

The Protégé is an exhilarating movie filled with high-octane action, copious amounts of blood and gore, and a sensual undercurrent of fight-or-flirt that has not been seen on the silver screen since Campbell gifted cinema with James Bond and Vesper.