(2025) Protector - An OK Action Thriller Supported by Well Choreographed Action Sequence though Rather Poorly Done in Other Areas

Yesterday I wanted to watch a movie while waiting for another series to have its finale today. I came across this one in HBO Max which I was not familiar with but seemed to have interesting premise. So I decided to just give it a try. 

Brief Story Line

Nikki Halsted (Milla Jovovich - Monster Hunter, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter etc) was a former US special forces soldier who had been in many tours and returned back to be close to her now teenaged daughter Chloe (Isabel Myers - Mixed-ish TV series etc). However it was not an easy relationship as she had been away for too long. On the night of her birthday, Chloe and her friends decided to go to a bar where she met with a young man named Ben (Shane Williams). Unfortunately Ben was part of a human traffic organization referred to as the Syndicate and Chloe became their latest victim.

Sakamoto Days - The Live Action Adaptation of Popular Manga Series

I am not sure why I missed out on this movie when it was first released in Prime Video on 29 October. I only realized while I was on holiday trip and searching for simple things to watch in the hotel. But since I knew it was an action film, I waited till I was back home. As I was finishing other things first, I only watched it last night. OK then, here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Taro Sakamoto (Ren Meguro - As Long As We Both Shall Live, Trillion Game TV series etc) was a professional hitman and regarded as the best. But when he met and fell in love with a convenience store clerk named Aoi (Aya Ueto - The Silent Service TV series, Azumi etc), Sakamoto wanted to marry her. After convincing Aoi that he would never kill again, they finally got married and had a young daughter named Hana (Yoshimoto Miyu). As a retired hitman, Sakamoto now just watched over the convenience store with another clerk named Lu Xiaotang (Mayuu Yokota - Drawing Closer, Reborn TV series etc) but due to his current lifestyle, he had become overweight.

Mike's Movie Moments is featured as One of the Best Thriller Blogs to Follow in 2026 by Feedspot

I have created this blog for around a decade now and what started as a little hobby of mine has turned into something that I am pleased and proud to have as it become a platform for me to write about my cinematic and streaming experience. Hence it comes as a nice surprise that my blog has been featured as one of the best thriller blogs to follow in 2026 by Feedspot. It provided me a genuine delight that some people find it to be good enough to read and recommend.

Below is the link for reference.

Special thanks to the team in Feedspot especially to Anuj Agarwal as the Creator and Founder of Feedspot.