The Protector

Name: The Protector
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: September 8, 2006
Duration: 81 min
Rating: 52
Cast: Nathan Jones, Tony Jaa, Xing Jing

2006

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 51 Ratings

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8.2

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8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 51 Ratings

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The Protector

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Movie Details & Credits

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: September 8, 2006 | R

Starring: Nathan Jones, Tony Jaa, Xing Jing

Summary: The Protector is the highly anticipated full bodied martial arts epic starring international superstar Tony Jaa. His world shaped by ancient traditions, a young Thai fighter (Jaa) is called upon to defend his people and their honor after outsiders invade their home and destroy all that is sacred. Fueled by desire to protect a way of lifeThe Protector is the highly anticipated full bodied martial arts epic starring international superstar Tony Jaa. His world shaped by ancient traditions, a young Thai fighter (Jaa) is called upon to defend his people and their honor after outsiders invade their home and destroy all that is sacred. Fueled by desire to protect a way of life and avenge the wrong done to his family, he will bring fight to their city. (The Weinstein Company)… Expand

Director: Prachya Pinkaew

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 81 min

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Critic Reviews

Sean Axmaker

A furiously choreographed martial-arts spectacle wrapped in a fumbling narrative. Read full review

M. E. Russell

The Protector is the nuttiest movie I've seen all year, and I've seen the last 20 minutes of "The Wicker Man." Read full review

Marc Bernardin

It's silly, at times laughable, sure, but Jaa has a reckless, bone-cracking grace that transcends the film's triviality. Read full review

G. Allen Johnson

A bad film with a great star and some truly amazing action sequences. Read full review

Luke Y. Thompson

Jaa has the skills for the job, and shows them off in numerous fight scenes; it's just a shame that the movie he's in is barely acceptable in any other respect. Read full review

Richard James Havis

A relentless focus on action over character and story will leave more mainstream viewers cold. Read full review

Kyle Smith

This ludicrous Quentin Tarantino-chosen low-budget movie features choppy editing and an amateurish script, and it switches strangely back and forth between dubbing and subtitles. Read full review

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User Reviews

b.dunce

Sep 8, 2006

Considering that a good 25 or more minutes was sliced off of this movie for the American release, yes it is choppy. It's still one of the mind-blowing action movies you will EVER see.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MattW.

May 25, 2008

Forget the plot. You don't watch a martial arts movie for the gripping storyline or subtly nuanced character acting. You watch it for the ass kickery. This movie has it in spades. The fights are both amazingly choreographed and enjoyably brutal. Tony Jaa is the master of the flying knee!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MortS.

Sep 24, 2006

No other fight scene compares to his limb breaking rampage.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

Riren

Feb 26, 2007

Tony Jaa returns to the American screen in another wildly entertaining martial arts flick. Like a Kung Fu movie, this Muay Thai movie doesn't ask for much thought as to its plot. It's emotions are worn on its sleeve as it runs towards the next fight scene. And like Ong Bak, the Tony Jaa returns to the American screen in another wildly entertaining martial arts flick. Like a Kung Fu movie, this Muay Thai movie doesn't ask for much thought as to its plot. It's emotions are worn on its sleeve as it runs towards the next fight scene. And like Ong Bak, the fight scenes are some of the most eyepopping you could ask for.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

ColinB.

Sep 21, 2006

A disappointing followup to ONG BAK. The story line was terrible and the cinemaphotography was bluish and washed out. As one person already stated, the fight scenes were repetative. That said, it was still a pleasure to see some very unique martial art moves from a genre that is practically A disappointing followup to ONG BAK. The story line was terrible and the cinemaphotography was bluish and washed out. As one person already stated, the fight scenes were repetative. That said, it was still a pleasure to see some very unique martial art moves from a genre that is practically dead. My favorite part was the main character's fight with martial artists of different styles. Bruce Lee still did it best in his last film, but Tony Jaa comes close in giving us a refreshing twist with his art. If you're hungry for a martial arts film, then by all means see this one. If you're picky for a great martial arts movie, then pass this one up.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

GoodLuckCharlie

Dec 9, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I give it a 5. Why? Because this movie has some factors of a good film, while also having bad parts. I would have given a much lower score, if not for Tony Jaa and the stuntmen's great action and choreography. Other than that, the movie was quite lacking.

Firstly, the movie is based on the story of a man who fights off the bad guys to save his beloved elephant. Now, that's a great start for a movie! Lots of emotional appeal, and the protagonist's motive is clear. It's a pity how the movie turned out, though. Although Tony Jaa really did beat the bad guys up, his relationship with his elephant was not portrayed enough and I really couldn't feel any emotions when he saved his elephant. Like, seriously. Even listening to someone tell the story to me would have gotten me all sad. However, the movie really lacks that aspect, and I feel like it doesn't effectively convey any thoughts or emotions to the audience. It could be because of the frequent foreign language dialogues that I didn't understand, but the movie should've been clearer.

Character development is also seriously lacking. Tony Jaa's character is somewhat introduced well, but the other characters, such as Mark, Madame Rose, and the others aren't really shown very well. Many of them seem extremely simple, with only one motive. They all seem very two-dimensional.

However, I do recommend that you watch this movie at least once. It has great action scenes and it's so satisfying. I must add, though, that the main character is unrealistically invincible. Now, I'm no physician, but I know that getting thrown head-first into a pillar will probably hurt a lot. This movie is very unrealistic, and this is a double-edged sword. For one thing, it shows the rage and sadness that drives the protagonist and instills some emotion into the audience. On the other hand, it's unenjoyable at times because the outcome of the fight is always so obvious.

Lucky for this film, the actors were very skilled and their action scenes were amazing. Better character development and suspense is needed.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Tomscore1961

Dec 29, 2018

From first episode to the last, the Protector, serves its audience a bundle of outdated cliches kept together loosely with a boring and slow paced story. Directing seems to have been done by a team of film students, all of whom wanted to copy their favorite superhero scene. The onlyFrom first episode to the last, the Protector, serves its audience a bundle of outdated cliches kept together loosely with a boring and slow paced story. Directing seems to have been done by a team of film students, all of whom wanted to copy their favorite superhero scene. The only redeeming aspects are Okan Yalabik's performance and the soundtrack (at times). 1005 of the remaining 1048 IMDB voters are NON-US,which definitely tells us this show is mostly liked by the Turks...I understand the excitement of Turkish viewers and the high ratings coming from them, but i'm warning you if your time is valuable skip this one.
What Netflix was thinking while shooting this disaster is beyond me. Even Iron Fist looks like freakin The Lord of The Rings compared to this… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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