Ten years ago, Mahershala Ali cemented his status as an acting force with his performance in Moonlight, a captivating tale of masculinity, parenthood, and societal expectations. With Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, he revisits these themes in a slightly unconventional but no less enthralling manner: as a sword-wielding hitman trying to care for his kids and newborn baby. The result is one of the year’s best.

There’s some obvious poetic justice to be had in this movie for both Ali and writer/director Bassam Tariq. Both were originally attached to Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot, but due to endless production delays, the project ended up falling apart altogether. It’s a bitter pill to swallow given how much the first Blade (1998) proved Marvel’s viability on the big screen, but Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother manages to put Tariq’s bag of visual tricks and Ali’s swordsmanship training to good use in a thriller whose soulfulness and brutality stem from the moral duality within its hero. It’s the kind of story that could easily slide into self-seriousness or violent lunacy without a steady hand, yet thanks to Ali’s multidimensional performance, it juggles all these tones with ease.

Latif (Ali) is usually quite good at being an assassin. The opening scene shows him at work eliminating a target with brutal efficiency, but the fallout is a lot sloppier. From the way he wraps up his mark’s body to realizing the fight damaged his newborn’s supply of breast milk, it’s one setback after another, culminating in a phone call where Latif learns his wife has died. Now, he’s left to care for his children Fatiha (Adia) and Qadir (Jahleel Kamara) alongside the newborn and, while their mosque community expresses deep sympathy and support, the loss has him undergoing a crisis of grief and faith. Worse, the baby won’t accept formula, and Latif needs to find a supplier while dealing with his handler, Mike (Laith Nakli), over his botched job.

For Latif to make amends, Mike demands he protect his deeply haram nephew Hatty from outside threats. A former Quran student of Latif, Hatty currently operates a gauzy Muslim-themed porn empire that’s earned the ire of Hwan Yoon (John Cho), a cult leader who runs his organization, the Church of the Divine Fire, like a cross between an Evangelical preacher and a Western outlaw. Yoon views Hatty’s business as an affront to male youth and believes his death is one of many steps to salvation. For Latif, though, locating the breast milk takes priority, even as the journey to getting a prescription proves loaded with red tape and setbacks. Yet it also sets the stage for his encounter with Yoon, eventually putting Latif’s family in greater danger while highlighting his duality as a man of faith and violence.

The moment where Latif encounters Yoon for the first time easily ranks as one of the most fascinating movie scenes this year. Ali’s performance masterfully switches from relief at solving his breast milk problem to becoming fearful for his infant’s life being put in danger, and then to a stone-cold killer as he dispenses with Yoon’s henchmen. Tension is ramped up by, of all things, the sounds of a baby burping, while the action blends grit with ingenuity, such as Latif covering his gloves with Vaseline and broken glass to use as makeshift weapons. Bolstered by Tariq’s direction, it’s a fascinating amalgamation of the badass, the strange, and the emotionally vulnerable that Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother wields like an expert.

Equally crucial is the emphasis on faith and fatherhood. The title references a quote where the Prophet Muhammad was asked who is most deserving of a person’s love, citing the mother three times before acknowledging the father. To honor his late wife, Latif does what he can to keep his family in one piece, even if it means embracing unsavory work. This makes for a complicated relationship with his imam, Abdul Malik (Giancarlo Esposito), but also leads to quiet, tender moments with Fatiha and Qadir at home and during services. This authentic bond gives Latif something to fight for while also exposing his vulnerability, leading to a climax that’s part John Wick–inspired showdown and part test of deep religious faith.

It’s a genuine shame that Ali never got to play the Daywalker, a fact Wesley Snipes himself ridiculed in Deadpool & Wolverine by stating there’s “only ever going to be one Blade.” But the actor remains a one-of-a-kind talent, and rather than simply remind audiences of what could have been, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother succeeds as its own creation.