The Protector (1985) Warner Bros./Action RT: 95 minutes Rated R (strong bloody violence, full frontal nudity, sexual content, pervasive language, drug content) Director: James Glickenhaus Screenplay: James Glickenhaus Music: Ken Thorne Cinematography: Mark Irwin Release date: August 23, 1985 (US) Cast: Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello, Bill Wallace, Roy Chiao, Moon Lee, Ron Dandrea, Saun Ellis, Victor Arnold, Patrick James Clarke, Kim Bass, Richard Clarke, Sandy Alexander, Ronan O’Casey. Box Office: $981,817 (US)
Rating: ***
I have no deep insights about The Protector. The martial arts actioner simply doesn’t call for it; it’s just a simple “cops bust a major drug ring” flick, nothing more. It stars Jackie Chan in one of his first American movies. This brings up something interesting. Prior to his mainstream breakthrough in the late 90s with hit films like Rumble in the Bronx and the Rush Hour series, he appeared in a handful of American movies like the period 30s gangster/martial arts actioner The Big Brawl and both Cannonball Run movies.
During production on The Protector, Chan often clashed with director James Glickenhaus (The Exterminator, Shakedown) over his ability to direct a coherent and believable movie. At one point, the Hong Kong-born star walked off the set and threatened to quit. Ultimately, he finished the project and didn’t appear in another American-made movie for 12 years. The truth is that Glickenhaus isn’t a very good director. His movies tend to be choppy and weak in the storytelling department. However, they tend to be crazy violent with a decent amount of splatter and unbelievably wild action scenes. He’s one of my guilty pleasure directors.
In The Protector, Jackie plays Billy Chan, a New York City police officer with mad martial arts skills and a penchant for massive property destruction. His partner Michael Alexander (Patrick James Clarke) is killed during an attempted robbery and Billy gives chase to the one who got away. He chases him on foot through the city, then on water after the shooter steals a yacht from a nearby marina. Billy jumps into a speedboat and, against the orders of his captain (Arnold, The First Deadly Sin), he continues his pursuit. He calls for air support and, when the helicopter arrives, it lowers a ladder and Billy climbs on, allowing the speedboat to smash into the yacht, killing the last robber.
As a result of his actions, he’s demoted to crowd control. He’s assigned to work a party with his new partner Danny Garoni (Aiello, Do the Right Thing). The party is being given by Martin Shapiro (Dandrea), who I assume is a wealthy businessman into some shady business. Why else would he have a bodyguard like Benny Garucci (Wallace, A Force of One)? He threatens Billy for having the nerve to speak with his boss’ daughter Laura (Ellis).
A bunch of uninvited guests wearing masks, literally, crash the party and kidnap Laura. The police quickly figure out she’s been taken to Hong Kong where she’s being held for ransom by crime boss Harold Ko (Chiao). Apparently, Shapiro is involved in a major drug ring with the Hong Kong crime lord and owes him a lot of money. The police commissioner (O’Casey) sends Chan and Garoni to track down the missing girl in Hong Kong much to the dismay of Superintendent Whitehead (Richard Clarke) who does not approve of their methods at all. It seems that trouble follows the two Americans wherever they go which usually results in death and mass destruction.
As you can see, The Protector is a pretty routine police actioner, but it has some great scenes thanks to Chan’s extraordinary fighting skills. He uses whatever he can get his hands on to fight off his opponents and he’s very agile. This is why Chan is a superstar in Asian countries, people love what he does. He’s definitely got screen presence and does a pretty good job in this movie even though he’s obviously still struggling with his English. Sometimes it’s difficult to make out what he’s saying, but considering that English is his second language, I’m not going to hold that against him.
I’ve always liked Danny Aiello; he has a very distinctive personality (New York Italian all the way!) and great talent as a character actor. One of the first things I recall seeing him in is one of those ABC (American Broadcasting System) Afterschool Specials that ran in the 70s and 80s. People of a certain age will remember these. They were hour-long dramas that usually dealt with serious issues (drugs, terminal disease, child abuse). It was called A Family of Strangers (1980). Aiello plays a widower with two daughters who marries a widow with one daughter. I remember being impressed with him. Here’s this tough looking Italian guy trying to connect with his new stepdaughter. I just thought that he was really cool.
I like the chemistry between Chan and Aiello. It’s good without being a magical combination on the level of 48 Hrs (Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy) or Lethal Weapon (Mel Gibson and Danny Glover). Those are the high water marks of buddy movies about cops. It would be almost impossible to surpass those classics even though many have tried and failed (I’m looking at you, Loose Cannons!).
The action scenes in The Protector are fairly impressive. When somebody gets shot in a Glickenhaus film, it’s usually accompanied by a decent amount of bloodshed. Lots of things get destroyed or blown up, it’s pretty bad ass! However, Glickenhaus can never seem to tell a coherent story and that’s probably why his movies haven’t been released theatrically since McBain (1992). But that’s the nature of B-movies; they’re not always going to be quality pictures. This is what the fans expect and you have to take them with a grain of salt.
The Protector is a pretty good movie, but I do have one question. What’s up with the opening scene? A truck full of computers gets hijacked by a gang of street punks. They rig up the traffic light so they make it red when a potential victim comes along. They attach chains to the rear doors so that when the truck pulls away, the doors will get torn open. Billy and his partner arrive after the fact; the punks have already gotten away and the truck driver is wild pissed. What does this have to do with the plot of the movie? It’s never mentioned again; why introduce it in the first place? This isn’t really a criticism; it’s more of a rhetorical question since I already know the answer. The genre calls for an attention grabbing opening scene. It’s actually a pretty cool scene, even if it has nothing to do with anything else that happens in the movie.
You call tell that The Protector is a product of the 80s simply by observing that the police superintendent in Hong Kong is an Englishman. Hong Kong was under British colonial rule at the time (they left in ’97 when their lease ran out). I mention this to add a hint of historical context to the movie, that’s about the deepest thing in the dumb but fun The Protector.
P.S. This is a review of the American cut. I’ve only just been made aware of the Hong Kong cut. I’ll have to hunt it down.
