STORYLINE: Former war hero Nikki’s peaceful life is shattered when her daughter is kidnapped. Thrust into the criminal underworld while hunted by cops and military, she must fight to rescue her child. (IMDb)

     Taken (2008) is an action packed movie.  Room (2015) is a dramatic feature.  2013’s Prisoners is a tense thriller. What connects these motion pictures?  They’re all about kidnapping. Just like the new Milla Jovovich feature, Protector.

    Protector has a story similar to the Liam Neeson film, Taken.  A highly trained individuals daughter is kidnapped, and that individual uses their skills to pursue the kidnappers, to rescuer their child. Of course, there are many action sequences designed to be exciting.

   Where Taken succeed, in being a thrill to watch, with tense moments, and those previously mentioned exciting action sequences, Protector fails.  Outside of the occasional twist and turn, that seemed out of place in the film, Protector was nothing but a lackluster carbon copy of Taken.

    This came as a disappointment to me.  Over the years I enjoyed watching Milla Jovovich in action. Starting with The Fifth Element (1997), continuing with the Resident Evil franchise, and I even enjoyed returning to theaters to see Monster Hunter in 2020 as the world slowly reopened from the pandemic.

   Protector is an action packed disappointed, that owes its cinematic existence to Taken. 

   Until next time I will see you at the movies!