Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (May 31, 2026)
If you ever thought you’d like to see a version of 2009’s Taken told with a female protagonist, I bear good news! 2025’s Protector seems like it might give you want you crave!
Nikki Halstead (Milla Jovovich) lived a violent life as an elite soldier. She shifts away from this and pursues a calmer existence in which she raises her teen daughter Chloe (Isabel Myers).
This gets shattered when nefarious parties kidnap Chloe. Nikki sets off on a journey into the criminal underworld as she attempts to rescue her child.
Though he also worked in TV, Protector director Adrian Grunberg came into this film with precisely two prior features to his credit: 2012’s Get the Gringo and 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood. Neither signaled the arrival of a great – or even good – filmmaker.
Apparently on a plan to make a new movie every six to seven years, Grunberg returns with one notable change: his lead character. The prior two flicks starred 1980s action heroes Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone, respectively, while Protector goes younger via Jovovich.
Well, a little younger when we compare Jovovich to Gibson. Mel was 56 in 2012 for Gringo whereas Milla was 49 during this flick’s shoot, so that doesn’t present a large differential.
Protector approaches its subject matter in a ham-fisted manner. The film opens with text about human trafficking that reads more as a PSA than necessary exposition, and voiceover from Jovovich exists to spell out everything along the way.
Grunberg lacks the slightest ability to tell a tale with any nuance or subtlety. He beats us over the head with every aspect of Protector and makes it silly when it wants to seem ominous or terrifying.
Protector comes with scads of plot holes. It forces Nikki to veer from super-intelligent badass to complete moron in the blink of an eye just to satisfy its story choices.
The narrative of Protector makes little sense most of the time, and it requires all the other characters to act in bizarre ways as well. Stupidity abounds in this illogical and asinine story.
The finale of Protector offers a massive plot twist that the filmmakers apparently thought would redeem all the problems seen up to that point. No spoilers, of course, but this curveball makes the movie seem even more ridiculous.
Jovovich delivers a typically solid performance. She adds class to a project otherwise devoid of merit.
Outside of its idiotic conclusion, Protector just never finds anything new to bring to its genre. Granted, the same-old same-old can still satisfy if executed in a positive manner.
Unfortunately, Grunberg lacks the talent to make Protector into something more than just a clumsy and cheap action flick. It delivers 92 minutes of melodrama and action without creativity or flair.
