Amazon Action Thriller Protector Becomes Global Streaming Hit

Every so often, a movie defines its genre for an entire generation. One such film is Taken, the 2008 action-thriller featuring Liam Neeson scouring France in search of his kidnapped daughter. The film became a box office success, earning upwards of 10 times its production budget. It was so successful that it spawned a franchise featuring three feature films and a two-season series on NBC.

Now, another movie inspired by Taken is dominating streaming charts due to its recent release on Amazon’s MGM+ and it is giving Milla Jovovich’s career the resurgence it deserves.

Protector is basically Rambo meets Taken

That movie is Protector, a 2026 action-thriller starring Jovovich as Nikki Halstead, a former Army operative whose quiet life is shattered after her daughter is kidnapped. With both criminals and law enforcement closing in, Nikki falls back on the skills she thought she left behind as she tears through the city underworld to bring her daughter home.

The comparison to Taken is immediate. Much like Bryan Mills, Nikki is a parent with a particular set of skills who gets the worst possible motivation to use them. The film also shares a close connection to a beloved Sylvester Stallone action franchise.

Protector is directed by Adrian Grünberg, the filmmaker behind 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood. That movie similarly centered on a former soldier going to extraordinary and exceptionally violent lengths after someone close to him is taken.

At just over 90 minutes, Protector has a brisk pace and kinetic action set pieces. Jovovich is joined by Matthew Modine and Isabel Myers, with the movie leaning heavily on chase sequences and the urgent clock ticking down as she tries to find her daughter before it is too late.

The film does not reinvent the revenge-thriller formula. Protector takes the parental desperation of Taken, mixes it with the hard-edged survival instincts of Rambo, and hands the story to an actor who has spent her career carrying action movies. Judging by its sudden rise on streaming, plenty of viewers were looking for exactly that.

Source: Polygon