Milla Jovovich snarls, stabs, and dual-wields her way through this grim copy of a copy, breaking the glass ceiling of who can star in one of these bloodthirsty parental nightmare-fantasies.

Dragged down by over-explanatory dialogue and tired narrative tropes, 'Protector' brings nothing new to the table–except maybe for a confounding 11th hour twist that I won’t spoil that defies reasoning and frankly, good taste.

Protector, directed by Adrian Grunberg, doesn’t have the finesse of that Liam Neeson movie, but it does have Milla Jovovich, who breathes life into this brooding, occasionally stiff revenge thriller.

Milla Jovovich shines, but the familiar story never finds its footing.