The Protector

Play trailer

The Protector

R

Released Sep 8, 2006

1h 24m

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

53%

Tomatometer

89 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

A young fighter (Tony Jaa) travels to Australia to retrieve stolen elephants that were promised originally to the king of Thailand. Once there, he enlists the aid of a Thai-born Aussie detective to help him achieve his goal, and he uses his fierce Muay Thai moves to battle an evil woman's gang of deadly bodyguards.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Despite some impressive fight scenes, this trimmed-down version of the Thai action pic is an off-putting mix of scant plot, choppy editing, and confusing subtitles and dubbing.

Read Critics Reviews

Derek Elley

Variety

Bone-crunching action triumphs over story and, uh, character development.

Jan 13, 2009

Full Review

Brian Tallerico

UGO

It's tremendously refreshing to see a film that relies solely on the choreography of its athletic star to make the action work.

Mar 24, 2007

Full Review

Reece Pendleton

Chicago Reader

Pretty tough to sit through.

Dec 15, 2006

Full Review

Phil Villarreal

Arizona Daily Star

The Protector is all spectacle and invention. Jaa is Fred Astaire strutting atop throngs of clueless enemies with grace and vigor. The film falls short not because they story is weak, but because the story is there at all.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 13, 2023

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The premise is hopelessly silly and pointlessly convoluted, as well as stuffed with laughable dialogue, but it purposefully tries not to interfere with the sensational stunts.

Rated: 5/10

Nov 21, 2020

Full Review

Joshua Starnes

ComingSoon.net

Truly, the best martial arts film about elephants yet made.

Rated: 4/10

Apr 25, 2011

Full Review

Read all reviews

Elvis D

Tras Ong-Bak, llega la segunda película protagonizada por Tony Jaa donde sus escenas de combate no tienen límites. The Protector es una película donde Tony Jaa nuevamente se apodera de la pantalla, pero a un nivel mucho más emocionante. La historia es bastante simple y el guion es débil, con una trama que se siente casi incompleta, pero las escenas de pelea compensan mucho eso. Es una película que ofrece pura acción y peleas muy excitantes. Se puede entender la historia con facilidad, a pesar de que se siente que todavía faltan más piezas argumentales. La banda sonora de RZA aporta muchísimo a las escenas de acción. Tony Jaa definitivamente es lo mejor y demuestra por segunda vez su talento como artista marcial. Simplemente, es tremendo al momento de luchar y se siente como un auténtico guerrero invencible. The Protector es definitivamente una película que solo ofrece acción excitante y solo es adopto para aquellos que buscan una película emocionante sin importar la pereza del argumento. Mi calificación final para esta película es un 7/10.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/30/23

Full Review

Lila m

Selten einen so nervtötenden unsympathischen dummen und Therapie bedürftigen Helden als Hauptfigur gesehen...4 Staffeln....1 Staffel hätte gereicht...oder ein 90 Minuten Film. Drehbuch und Dialoge wiederholen sich gefühlt minütlich. Die Getreuen sind treudoof, werden vom Protector benutzt und verfeuert und sie sind erfüllt von kompetenzloser Ahnungslosigkeit. Der Held und die Bösewichte total lasch. Hakans (der Protector) maßlose Trotteligkeit und Narzismus und seine egoistische Liebeskrankheit zu Leila ist kaum zu ertragen, so dass man sich wünscht, dass Leila bitte nie wieder von den Toten aufersteht, so dass das Leiden eines schlechten Drehbuchs aufhören möge.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/21/23

Full Review

Bila Salsabila S

Like and the best 🤩🤩🤩

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/06/23

Full Review

Emmanuel V

The ending is a good and badass.I rather listen to robs zombie music then movies cause there pretty disturbing.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

i also train muay boran and tony jaa is my idol but i keep this review professional!! tony jaa actually did that staircase scene in one take (rip camera man :D) and most of his stunts. but story is good for those that understand the culture of this country but for those that don't its hard to believe why he (like) kills people for elephant!!! (example my big sister that is also intrested from self defence and she asked me that why he killed that dude in certain scenes!)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Liam D

A insane and great time This Thriller is a stupid movie but by god it's entertaining

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/06/21

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Prachya Pinkaew

Director

Tony Jaa

Kham

Johnny Nguyen

Johnny

Nathan Jones

T.K.

Phetthai Vongkumlao

Mark

Xing Jing

Madame Rose

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

8 Essential Martial Arts Movies to Prime You for Into the Badlands

Total Recall: The 20 Greatest Fights Scenes Ever

Box Office Guru Preview: Crowe vs. Bale in Box Office Shootout

View more photos

Synopsis

A young fighter (Tony Jaa) travels to Australia to retrieve stolen elephants that were promised originally to the king of Thailand. Once there, he enlists the aid of a Thai-born Aussie detective to help him achieve his goal, and he uses his fierce Muay Thai moves to battle an evil woman's gang of deadly bodyguards.

Director: Prachya Pinkaew
Producer: Prachya Pinkaew, Sukanya Vongsthapat
Screenwriter: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Waratthana Weerayawattana, Piyaros Thongdee, Joe Wannapin
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Sahamongkolfilm Co. Ltd., Baa-Ram-Ewe, TF1 International
Rating: R (Some Sexual Content|Pervasive Strong Violence)
Genre: Action
Original Language: Thai
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 8, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $11.9M
Runtime: 1h 24m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now