Protégé

Protégé (門徒, 2007) is a Hong Kong crime thriller from director Derek Yee, ready to watch online on iFILM. Eight years undercover, and the line between cop and criminal has all but dissolved.

Nick has burrowed deep into Southeast Asia's biggest heroin operation, rising to become the trusted right hand of its boss, Quin — played by Andy Lau. Quin is hunting for an heir to the trade but keeps his cards close, which gnaws at Nick, because Nick (Daniel Wu) is really a police agent who is starting to like the money, the power and the trust a little too much. A junkie neighbor downstairs keeps reminding him where all of it ends.

Yee skips the shootouts for a cold, procedural look at the business itself — from the poppy field to the needle, stripped of any glamour. Lau, all politeness and family-man calm while he poisons half a continent, is scarier than any gun-toting villain. Hard, methodical, and built for fans of Asian crime cinema. Stream Protégé (2007) online on iFILM.