Tony Jaa fans rejoice! He is back with more chest-smashing and bone breaking than ever before.
For those out there that don’t know, Tony Jaa is the latest Kung Fu phenomenon to hit the film industry.
As a Thai native, Jaa brings a unique style of martial arts, Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) to the big screen that features attacks using his elbows, and kicks using his knees.
“The Protector,” much like his previous U.S. film, “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior,” has a less than engaging storyline, but includes some visually stimulating martial arts that more than make up for the noticeable lack of character development in the plot.
Movie-goers looking for expert martial arts are bound to love the movie.
Jaa’s commitment to real stunts and action sequences follow in the footsteps of martial arts legends Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, and in many cases, display the quality one would expect from these masters of martial arts.
Jaa is a growing star, taking legendary fame much like his predeccesors.
This is a testament to the fact that these men are some of the influences that inspired Jaa at a young age.
The movie is partially subtitled, as it begins in Thailand.
In the film, Kham (Tony Jaa) belongs to a long line of elephant-raising warriors that serve the Thai king.
His world is turned upside down when the family’s largest elephant and its cub are stolen by a Thai crime syndicate based in Australia.
Growing up with the elephants, he has formed a unique bond with them.
He must travel to Australia and reclaim the treasured beasts, breaking through the mass of gangsters that stand in his way.
Kham receives help from a Thai-born Australian cop (Petchtai Wongkamlao) that knows the inner working of the Thai gang and the girlfriend (Bongkoj Khongmalai) of one of the lower leaders of the gang.
Just some of the fight scenes include a fast paced battle in the city with men on inline skates, motor-cross bikes and an ATV.
The film also features a fight in a burning building that has accumulated a layer of water on the ground from fire sprinklers. It is a scene where Kham must ascend a building over four stories, fighting over one hundred men before facing the evil Madam Rose (Xing Jing), the leader of the gang.
Although the plot is highly predictable, this is not the sort of film that was intended to earn high acclaim for its writing.
If that is what audiences are looking for in a film, “The Protector” may not be the film to see.
Nevertheless, the poor writing is not enough of a factor to ruin the film’s image. Audiences may want to give this one a chance before turning it down as “just another action flick.”
