Magenta Light Studios
This is a revenge movie and revenge movies can be a lot of fun.
Just ask the ghost of John Wick’s puppy. That little fella got payback on the other side of the rainbow bridge.
Unlike John Wick, which is a unique take on universe building and revenge, Protector isn’t much more than a blatant ripoff of other, much better films.
Protector is basically Taken with worse writing, a lower budget and bargain basement production values.
I adore Milla Jovovich. The 5th Element rates as one of the most rewatchable movies of all time and her action credentials are unimpeachable. She has been kicking ass in Resident Evil films for almost 25 years as well as a variety of other films from Joan of Arc to Ultraviolet.
The action in Protector is not bad, but so much of it happens off screen we don’t really get what we came for, which is Milla doing Milla things with the bodies of evil doers flying in all directions. The later we get in the film, the more of the killing happens in front of us and I think there were some budget tradeoffs made or editing decisions that cut the act 1 action down to a minimum.
The casting in the film is bizarre. DB Sweeney as a police captain? I mean, as I was watching him, all I could think was, “Wow, DB Sweeney isn’t looking so good.” About halfway through the film, Matthew Modine shows up in his Vision Quest singlet… wait, no. He shows up in a bizarre ripoff of Richard Crenna’s Colonel Trautman from First Blood. Conveniently, Modine plays a colonel as well.
During the film we hear a brutally worded, tedious monologue from Jovovich’s character, with a dead voiced monotone that is clearly meant to be Sarha Connor-esque. Let’s just be clear, fan service, or homages to films that came before are welcome and appreciated.
However, execution is everything and there is a difference between an homage and what we see in Protector. There just isn’t anything unique about this film and the action isn’t SO good that we forget we’re seeing the same thing we’ve seen 100 times before.
Unfortunately, the lack of effort in the writing permeates most of the characters. Almost no one has more than a few lines aside from Sweeney, Modine and Jovovich.
Keanu Reeves says a grand total of 484 words in John Wick and most viewers don’t notice or care because the action is so compelling nothing needs to be said. That means we need a whole lot more action than Protector gives us. It means we need edge level fight choreography that brings us to the edge of our seats and blows our minds. Protector doesn’t even come close to that. Although, the third act action is pretty good.
The production values are a serious disappointment. The film is far too dark at times and the action becomes masked by the lack of light. This is unforgiveable. If you can’t afford to light the scene properly, you can’t afford to shoot the scene. Even if the budget doesn’t allow for the practical or CGI effects you are looking for, the editing can cover you with solid jump cuts and well planned angles.
Director Adrian Grunberg should know better. I haven’t seen a ton of his work, but he was second unit director on Denzel’s Man On Fire and that’s one of the best action films in the last 40 years. He was also second unit director on Apocalypto which, despite my personal feelings about Mel Gibson, is a phenomenal film. If you look at his history, his 2nd unit or Assistant Director credits are incredible, but he hasn’t been able to replicate the success when he’s had the lead. Some people are made to be supporting players. Maybe the director’s chair just isn’t for him.
This is the first writing credit for Bong-Seob Mun and it shows. There is barely an original idea in the plot. Even the late third act twist is such a cliché my only reaction was, whatever. It seems as if he wanted to make a brave choice, but didn’t quite know how to pull it off and left us with a too little too late throw in. You don’t want to say someone’s first effort means they should never write again, but he needs serious coaching. The script is just one lifted idea after another and while he stitches them together into a mediocre story, there is almost nothing memorable in the film.
Unless you are a rabid Milla Jovovich fan, there isn’t anything worth recommending here. If you are a rabid Milla Jovovich, rewatch something you know you love, so you don’t have scrub this one from your memory.
