From Deseret News archives:
The Protector
'Protector' lacks personality
Film review
The elephants featured in "The Protector" have more personality than the star, which is a real problem.
This martial-arts/revenge thriller is supposed to be a star-making vehicle for Tony Jaa, an athletic Muay-Thai combatant who is being positioned as the next Jackie Chan. (Chan even does a cameo here, as a way of "passing the torch" to Jaa.)
But while Jaa has plenty of astonishing fighting moves, he lacks Chan's screen presence, dramatic or comic. As for the film, "The Protector" is certainly not unwatchable but it's a far cry from Chan's better pictures.
Jaa (who previously starred in "Ong-bak: The Thai Warrior") plays Cam, a Thai man whose job is protecting royal elephants, but gangsters kidnap Cam's animal charges, and in the process they also kill his father (Sotorn Rungruaeng).
Understandably, Cam is not in a forgiving mood. In fact, when he tracks the bad guys to Australia, he immediately starts cracking heads.
Obviously, no one goes to these kinds of movies for the story, and the plotting here is so ridiculous that it's a bit of a hindrance.
Still, there is plenty of action. Fans will appreciate a brutal, lengthy sequence in which Jaa's character breaks several arms, wrists, fingers, shoulders, legs, ankles, spines and necks complete with exaggerated sound effects.
"The Protector" is rated R for strong scenes of martial-arts/action violence (combat, beatings, shootings, stabbings, vehicular violence and explosive mayhem), scattered strong profanity and crude slang terms, some gore, brief female nudity and artwork, brief sexual contact, brief drug content (references), and use of racial epithets. Running time: 92 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com
Comments
Cast: Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao; dubbed and with English subtitles Asian dialects
Find a Movie Theater
- College football: Big-5 glance 12:34 a.m.
- Sports on the air 12:14 a.m.
- Missions teach players perseverance 12:08 a.m.
- Scout answer to church's prayers 12:08 a.m.
- Project helps Guatemalan kids 12:07 a.m.
- No expiration date on gratitude 12:07 a.m.
- Nursery Rhymes' gratitude 12:07 a.m.
- Temple Square to use LEDs 12:06 a.m.
- Mormon mom helps hungry children 12:05 a.m.
- The gospel in words: 'Feast' 12:05 a.m.
- Donny and Kym dance to victory
- Howard made the rivalry a rivalry
- Cave rescuers committed to free man
- Cougars cruise past Southern
- Twitterati to BCS: 'We hate you.'
- Loyal to Cougarettes, Crimson Line
- Y. focused on 10-win season
- BYU has slim shot at BCS
- Thunder rolls by Jazz
- Witness describes '99 killing
- BYU would like friendlier rivalry
258 - Glenn Beck to enter politics?
227 - Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
208 - RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks
202 - Bronco, Kyle rubber match
139 - BYU records with win
133 - Letters: Rushing to judge Palin
129 - Boys basketball rankings
109 - Thunder rolls by Jazz
106 - Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin
102
When "Dancing With The Stars" began more than two months ago, 16 couples...
Comedian Brian Regan, who is scheduled to perform at Abravanel Hall on...
Game Crazy is the nation's second largest video game retailer and they...
These message boards are for trading insults.....so if you don't want to be...
Did JD Books change his name to Porkins? Easy there fella
RE: BYU accounting grad. Most employers could give a hoot about your...
Best of luck to this young man. I do hope they get him out soon!
This team plays with very little heart at times. They had better step it up...
Bill Clinton was the unknown man on the grassy knoll.
Like in all honesty her starving herself is going to get govt officials in a...
Where do I need to go to sign this petition. It is long overdue.
I understand her desire to spread the word and make a difference, but I...
Reading is fundamental. Selected by ESPN as top player in state and signed...



You can be the first to comment on this story.