Milla Jovovich’s New Movie Gets a Brutal Rotten Tomatoes Score—Worse Than Most Resident Evil Films

Well, this is awkward. Milla Jovovich is back in action mode with a new thriller called 'Protector,' and early reactions are rough. Critics are chilly, audiences are lukewarm, and the numbers tell the story.

Where the scores landed

'Protector' currently sits at a 20% Tomatometer from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience response looks a bit friendlier at 58% on the Popcornmeter, which suggests some folks are finding pulp value even while the reviews lean negative.

What the movie is

Jovovich plays Nikki, a decorated former war hero whose life implodes when her daughter, Chloe, is kidnapped by sex traffickers. She punches straight into a violent criminal network to get her back, even as both the police and the military close in on her. It is single-minded, high-body-count rescue-mission material with mom-on-a-rampage energy.

Who made it

The film is directed by Adrian Grünberg and written by Bong-Seob Mun. The cast lines up with Matthew Modine as Colonel Joseph Lavelle, plus D. B. Sweeney, Don Harvey, Arica Himmel, Michael Stahl-David, and Isabel Myers as Chloe.

How it stacks up next to Resident Evil

Here is the part that will make franchise watchers raise an eyebrow. Jovovich’s new movie is pulling a lower critic score than most of her Resident Evil entries. For context:

• Resident Evil (2002): 36%
• Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004): 18%
• Resident Evil: Extinction (2007): 24%
• Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010): 21%
• Resident Evil: Retribution (2012): 28%
• Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016): 38%

With 'Protector' sitting at 20%, it edges out only 'Apocalypse' in that lineup and trails the rest. Ouch.

The bigger picture for Jovovich

Jovovich has been here before: 2020’s 'Monster Hunter' drew mixed-to-negative reviews even with a big canvas and bigger creatures. Still, few actors commit to physical roles the way she does, and she keeps leaning into the genre that made her an action mainstay.