Milla Jovovich brings intensity to a thriller that struggles to escape its recycled premise
Protector follows a familiar action-thriller formula while giving Milla Jovovich another opportunity to showcase her action-star credentials.
Eighteen years ago, actor Liam Neeson (Schindler's List) portrayed Bryan Mills, a former CIA agent trying to save his daughter, who has been kidnapped in Europe, in the movie Taken. Fast forward to 2025, and Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) is playing Nikki Halsted, a soldier whose daughter is kidnapped, forcing Nikki to use her special skills, operating outside legal channels, to hunt down those who took her daughter and rescue her. If the plot sounds familiar, that's because it is...almost. There are some definite differences between the two films, because while almost any man will do what he can to save his child, everyone knows not to get between a mother bear and her cub.
Nikki Halsted has missed much of her daughter's life because she has been overseas fighting enemies of America. Before she knew it, Chloe (Isabel Myers; Mixed-ish) had grown up, and when she went out with her friends, Nikki had concerns. Following Chloe, Nikki sees her daughter being dragged out of a club by two unknown men. Suddenly, Nikki finds herself on a clock to find Chloe before she is gone forever. Using whatever she can, she tracks Chloe's captors to "The Chairman" (Gabriel Sloyer; Griselda) in South America.
Jovovich is no stranger to action films and stunt choreography, so seeing her take on a role such as this isn't much of a surprise. She has had plenty of fight training over the years, and at this point, she is the perfect age to portray the parent of a teenager, so this role is not foreign to her. Myers does a decent job, though she does have a big role in the film, but Sloyer is the one who plays the villain very well, making the audience hate him from the moment we meet him. D.B. Sweeney (Megalopolis) and Matthew Modine (Stranger Things) join the cast in smaller parts.
Protector marks Bong-Seob Mun's feature film debut as a writer, but unfortunately, it is less than a glorious beginning. The plot (as we have seen) is mostly recycled, and the dialogue is pedestrian at best. Director Adrian Grunberg (Man on Fire) is no stranger to action films or a similar storyline, having directed Rambo: Last Blood about a young girl who is kidnapped and sold into the sex trade. Grunberg does a decent job, but none of his shots are groundbreaking.
This film is released by Magenta Light Studios and is offered on Blu-ray only. The 1080p resolution with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio offers a sharp video quality that is more or less expected with today's releases. Explosions, gunshots, and blood splatter are all clear and very detailed. Scenes are easy to see regardless of if they are in the sun during the day or in the darkness of the middle of the night.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 has a solid presentation on the Blu-ray disc. The effects are layered, offering a robust sound stage across all scenes. The dialogue sits up front and center and can easily be heard with a strong audio mix overall.
Surprisingly, this release doesn't have any extras, not even a "behind the scenes" making of the movie or stunt scene coordination between the director, stunt team and the actors.
Protector is not a new story by any means, and honestly, it has been done better before. I love that Jovovich gets to play the parent "with a particular set of skills," but the script needed to be stronger overall. The surprise ending is intriguing and heartbreaking, but it can't make up for the by-the-numbers story that leads up to such an ending.
Grade: D+
