The Protector
Tags: comedy, neo noir, murder, violence, cult, revenge

Plot synopsis:
=== US version ===
A gang is attempting to steal computers from an 18 wheeler. One of the gang members remotely hacks a set of traffic lights, turning them to red, while other members of the gang rig chains to the back of the truck. They turn the light green again, and as the truck pulls away, the chains tear the door open. When the trucker goes to the rear of his truck to investigate, he is knocked unconscious by a gang member, who then whistles for his cohorts to steal the load. Meanwhile, New York police officers Billy Wong (Jackie Chan) and Michael Alexander (Patrick James Clarke) are patrolling the neighborhood. On the radio, a dispatcher says that a truck was stripped by their premises, so the cops check it out. As the trucker comes to, he sees that his cargo has been stolen. Michael radios in the crime, while Billy passes the driver his hat, saying, "Welcome to New York".
Later, the two cops are in a bar. Billy Wong goes to the bathroom while Michael Alexander orders another round. Outside, a gang plan to rob the bar, unaware of the cops inside. They charge in busting the door and start roughing up the customers and gathering them by the till. Billy, still in the bathroom, has heard the commotion. The gang forces the customers to stand by the register, while one member tries to open the locked bathroom. Gun drawn, he breaks down the door, but Billy has overhead everything and shoots the gangster four times before he can make the shot.
Michael pulls out his own gun, killing another gangster, but is then shot by the two remaining gang members. Billy leaps and fires, killing one gangster, sending him flying through the bar window. The fourth gangster escapes. Billy approaches Michael, who asks, with his dying words, that Billy find the last gangster. Billy chases the last gang member to the marina across town. The gangster commandeers a yacht, so Billy gets the keys to the fastest speedboat from the boat boy. The captain orders Billy to let the harbor police catch the thief, but Billy refuses and speeds off. He calls an air unit who arrive on the scene and hoist him a line. Billy grabs onto the line, and lets his speedboat run into the henchman's boat, destroying both.
After attending a ceremonial funeral held for Michael, Billy gets back to crowd control. He goes to a party undercover with his new partner, Danny Garoni (Danny Aiello), where they see Benny Garrucci (Bill "Superfoot" Wallace), one of the bodyguards to Martin Shapiro (Ron Dandrea). A kidnapping has taken place, and nobody knows why. They later learn that crime boss Harold Ko (Roy Chiao) may have smuggled Shapiro's daughter, Laura (Saun Ellis), to Hong Kong for ransom. The men get a lead – Garrucci has made calls to a massage parlor.
While investigating, they get massages, but Billy sees a reflection of his masseuse pulling out a knife so he jumps, kicking her in the face and throws a lamp at the other masseurs. Billy and Garoni fight off the remaining clientele, before getting questioned by the leader of the massage parlour.
They go to Lee Hing (Peter Yang), to cash in a coin. A man named Stan Jones (Kim Bass) gets on the boat, asking for supplies. Stan warns Billy and Garoni they are being followed and Billy goes to get information from the leader. The leader throws a knife at him and escapes onto another boat. Billy and Garoni head back to their hotel, finding cash in a suitcase on the bed. They are attacked by two men, but manage to kill them. They make their exit and are taken to the police station in Hong Kong.
Garoni follows Garrucci to a drug laboratory, while Billy sees Hing's tortured and murdered body on his sunken boat. They go to a Buddhist priest who tells them what they are looking for. Billy, Garoni and Stan go to the drug lab, and destroy it, saving Laura Shapiro in the process. Garoni is shot by Garrucci, and is held hostage unless Billy returns Laura to Ko.
They meet at the shipyard and Laura is held hostage along with Garoni. Billy fights with Garrucci and Ko's guards and is eventually about to kill Ko, but Garrucci comes after Billy with a cut-off saw. In the ensuing fight, Garrucci is electrocuted by trying to slice open Billy's head, but missing and hitting an electric panel that he smashed Billy's head on. Ko escapes in a helicopter, and Billy follows after him, but a guard blocks his way. Billy and the guard fight on a cargo lifter half-loaded with boxes, with Billy dodging them. Garoni goes outside with the gang and kills a sniper with a 6-shot 20mm cannon. Billy is shot at, but eventually makes it to the top of a crane and Ko's helicopter gets crushed when Billy drops the crane on the helicopter killing Ko .
With Ko dead and Laura Shapiro saved, Billy and Danny are given a NYPD Medal of Honor.
=== Hong Kong version ===
Even though the narrative is the same, the Chinese version has a subplot featuring Sally Yeh in connection to the coin and her uncle working at the massage parlour. A large number of scenes were cut to improve the pace of the film and to cut down on any instances of nudity. Fully dressed lab women were added as a replacement to give more logical sense for the Chinese version. A lot of swearing and American slang has been totally changed to make the story cohesive enough for the story to work for the Chinese audience.
Bill Wallace also has an extra scene outside the ice warehouse against Lee Hoi-san in which it sets him up as a formidable opponent against Jackie Chan later on in the warehouse. The final fight scene is re-edited to make it more of a Hong Kong style. Overall, the script has been cleaned up to make it compatible for Chan's audience, to make it distinctive enough from the US version.

Review: In the second attempt to introduce martial arts superstar Jackie Chan to the North American market (after "The Big Brawl" in 1980), ever likable Jackie is amusingly miscast as Billy Wong, an NYC cop who, after some hot dog heroics, is demoted to crowd control at a fashion show, where he's partnered with Danny Garoni (the engaging Danny Aiello).
Chan has some fine action and fight sequences, especially one around the halfway point where he's trying to pursue a henchman escaping by boat.
Jackie does his best in the lead, with Aiello offering fine support and Chiao being just right as our glowering bad guy.
All things considered, it's not hard to see why Chan himself and some of his fan base might not care for the movie, but there is an alternate cut now available on Blu-ray with additional scenes created by Jackie himself, to better suit his vision (he really had no control on this feature at the time).In any event, it's worth noting the presence of a couple of familiar faces among the supporting cast, including Becky Ann Baker, John Spencer, Mike Starr, Big John Studd, and Trey Wilson.It would take another 11 years before North America finally, really took notice of Jackie with the release of "Rumble in the Bronx".Six out of 10..
Sure, it's not a typical Jackie Chan movie, but it's good anyway.
It has lots of action and is better than most of the buddy cop movies of the 1980's.
Bet you didnt expect that from a Jackie Chan movie, did ya?
Jackie Chan's strength is in my opinion his talent in performing action comedy and fighting in creative settings.
Jackie Chan had no control of this movie (at least the American version).
Apparently not, because in an interview years later, the director said he didn't regret his decision and kept claiming that Americans wouldn't accept Chan's Asian style.Back in Hong Kong, Chan re-shot the movie extensively, adding car chases and kung fu action.
Yes, *dull*.By the way, Chan next did POLICE STORY, as a "take that!" to that American director (James Glickenhaus, who hasn't done much lately.
People wrote that this movie sucks and stuff but they are dead wrong this movie has lots of action and some classic stunts from the master hismself Jackie Chan.
After constantly reading and hearing nothing but negative opinions about the American produced, but also filmed in Hong Kong Jackie Chan vehicle 'The Protector'.
I'm no Jackie Chan fan, but honestly it was director James Glickenhaus' name which fed my interest.
While it didn't have the on-going rush I was expecting, Chan gets some furious and hard-hitting action sequences (like the opening slow-motion bloody shoot-out, tricky boat chase (one by water and the other by foot) and a marvellous sky-high balancing act).
Don't listen to those other reviews that say that this movie has nothing or bad acting, because it is all good.
If you want to see a good Jackie Chan movie, go for this one.
The only bad thing is that Jackie Chan does not look in the 80's much like he does in the 90's.
This movie is not Jackie's style at all.He is born to play cartoonish,witty characters in far fetched situations like in "Winners and Sinners",but this is just a cold,heartless,clich'ed,dull and boring American action movie.I once read the opening sequence hailed as being"a rival for James Bond films for elaborate thrills".The scene,which is a speed boat chase,is one of the most boring and dragged out action scenes I have ever seen,and the outcome(Jackie beind lifted from a helicopter out of the boat and it crashing into the other boat and exploading)can be seen coming a mile away.I also once read that Chan considered this one of his worst movies.I agree with him wholeheartdly.The ending title song(called the protector)is the worst title song I have ever heard.(those that have seen it will know,as long as they didn't switch off by then).And by the way,who exactly is he protecting?.
Everybody and their mothers bashed this movie including Jackie himself who reshot and added more action and fight scenes in Hong Kong.
I think Jackie bashed the movie himself because it was a flop.This was an above average 80's action cop-buddy movie with some very expensive action scenes.
He does 2 death defying stunts in that scene alone, one involving a motor-cross bike and one with a long pole.It was not a typical Jackie flick because Jackie curses a lot and is seemed to be a cocky womanizer and there is a lot of nudity in this movie and it wasn't a comedy.
His acting wasn't bad and i thought his chemistry with Danny Aiello was pretty good too.Personally, i am a huge fan of Jackies being that i think i saw just about all his movies including some bad ones went he was just starting out in the early 70's and as a fan i'm glad he switched to a new role in this movie...and i don't know but there is just something about this movie that makes me watch it again and again.
This movie suffers from the fact that for years Hollywood had no clue as to how to package Jackie Chan for the masses.
His low-budget Hong Kong movies were all fast-paced kinetic thrillers that highlight his amazing gymnastic skills and talent for light comedy.
In his Hong Kong films Chan is never dull, with the movies being one rapid-fire martial arts sequence after another, but "The Protector" is lifeless throughout.
The best thing about the movie is the Hong Kong settings.
It wouldn't be until the made-in-Canada "Rumble in the Bronx" that the west would finally figure out how to make a good Jackie Chan movie..
This amazingly stupid Jackie Chan film, ruined by us, yes us, the Americans (I'm boiling with anger, ooh, I think I'll jump out that window!), has Chan as a New York cop hunting down a gang, avenging the death of his buddy.
To prove he could make a better cop film, Chan made the amazing POLICE STORY (1985)..
This film generally gets bad reviews, mostly it seems from Jackie Chan fans.
It is a more 'American' type of action film and if like me you do not like the usual lighthearted Chan films then you may well like this as it is a lot more serious.Pleasantly surprised by this one, great action scenes.
His fight scenes are very good, though not as elaborate as in his other films.
The perfect example of the difference between HK, and American action, this one exists in two forms: the James Glickenhaus pile of garbage, and the fairly entertaining Jackie re-edit with new subplot and fight scenes....I can't really recommend either, but the Chan edit, is well, obviously better, and it turns out the villains CAN fight.....Sad to compare the two really.
Misguided Jackie Chan vehicle tries to shoehorn the star into a generic, typical action film of the eighties, saddling him with a complete a**hole of a partner, played by Danny Aiello in one of the less shining moments of his career.
There are some good stunts and a couple of fight scenes, but they are nothing compared to some of the stuff Chan has done in his best work.
Chan's the man in a great action set piece flick.
The Protector has a lot of qualities about it, and in spite of Chan's real hate for this film, this is one I'd rather opt to watch, than his other chop suey comic style ones.
The action sequences in this film that really get us exhausted, watching Jackie, especially in the last one, are fantastically shot.
After being suspended for not playing by the rules when avenging his partner, (in the first great action piece, my favorite involving a speedboat chase) Chan's New York cop, Billy Wong is demoted to crowd control for a high fashion show.
Here the beautiful daughter of the company is kidnapped and it's up to Chan and likable sidekick (Aiello) to retrieve her, which leads em' to Hong Kong for business and a bit of dangerous if near fatal pleasure, involving some sexy, young, and deadly masseurs, where another great action piece evolves.
This is a bit of a cheeky action movie, as how it lets a bit of female anatomy seep through, one thing I strongly admire about it, and Chan barely has time to stop and rest, fighting baddies, and impressing us with some of his stunts.
They work well off each other, and though this film isn't at the top of Jackie's hit parade, The Protector is an action movie that delivers on all levels too with a bit of guilty cheek and humor.
i didn't mind this movie pairing Jackie Chan and Danny Aiello.it's not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination,but it kills some time.i've always liked Danny Aiello,so he elevates the movie a notch for me.the movie itself is a pretty generic crime drama.it's much darker in tone than The Big Brawl,Chan's first American movie,which had some humour in it.this one really doesn't.i didn't think the dialogue was all that great in this movie either.some of the lines were unnecessary or just plain silly.still,the movie was entertaining enough.this is Chan's second American movie(Cannonball Run II was just a small role,so it doesn't count)for me,The Protector is a 5/10.
There should have been more fast, furious action in the final fight scene between Jackie Chan and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace.
Mr. Wallace should have been able to show why he was called Superfoot in the martial art world because he was able to fake with one foot and then deliver a striking blow with the other foot.It was kind of weird the Hong Kong cops came in like a mob instead of acting like professional police officers with their guns drawn and moving in a precise manner like American cops in the movies do.
I still like the movie because Jackie Chan was still able to do fast fight scenes in the massage parlor..
I've read quite a few reviews for this movie, many emphasized that THE PROTECTOR is poor because it's not a Jackie Chan movie since it contains nudity, swearing, little to no humour, a slow pace and (worst of all) sloppy action scenes.
Chan's movie are almost always set to a break-neck pace and make anything else seem as slow as paint drying, so I thought that this movie would be pretty good when put up against any other contemporary action flick.
Director James Glickenhaus has made a few great action movies, most notably THE EXTERMINATOR (1980), THE SOLDIER (1982)and SHAKEDOWN (1988), so I thought this one would be pretty good.
I have seen the US version, the Asian release was re-filmed and re-edited by Chan and apparently corrects many of the problems I've mentioned.
Jackie Chan is the greatest action star EVER!
Well Jackie told Glickenhaus to let Jackie edit the movie.
After that, Jackie made Police Story to show how to make a REAL action movie!Though Jackie has made a few bad movies (protector, all Lo Wei movies), he is still the number one and will allways be!!.
He was so deeply disappointed with this movie, that he reshot a lot of the scenes when he returned to Hong Kong.And now for my experience:I have seen nearly all Jackie Chan movies, and I wanted to see this one too.
And my friend was right.If you see it, you can also understand why Jackie didn't make movies in the US for such a long time....
Chan plays a New York cop called Billy Wong and after his partner is gunned down during a robbery, he's teamed up with Danny Garoni, (Danny Aiello) against his wishes.
Chan didn't really use his Kung Fu skills that much but it was good to see him actually act, without any silly comedic scenes.
With that aside, it's a watchable film with a decent storyline and I liked the chemistry between Aiello and Chan.
You can tell that Chan was restricted with the amount of death defying stunts that he was allowed to do because of the laws in American movies.
You have to hand it to him for trying to make a movie in English and I honestly don't think that it was that bad but it does look really dated for this day and age, which is why I didn't give it a high score.I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/crime/drama/martial arts movies starring Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello, Sandy Alexander and Victor Arnold.
Gets Better With Age. OK not a great Jackie Chan movie but this film actually gets better with age.
Everybody criticizes this as not a "Jackie Chan" movie, but if you watch Kirk Wong's CRIME STORY, Jackie's character is actually very similar!
I have seen the Hong Kong version of this movie with the added scenes, but actually the US version is a lot more realistic because of the tougher (cursing) dialogue and nudity.
Criminally underrated Jackie Chan action - one of his best American movies.
This unfairly neglected '80s buddy-buddy cop flick sees Jackie Chan in his second American role, after the lesser BATTLE CREEK BRAWL.
THE PROTECTOR is generally regarded as one of the star's worst movies, especially by the man himself, but I'm pleased to say that now I've seen it, I can say otherwise.
This is an entertaining, violent, and action-packed movie, and it's easy to see why Chan himself doesn't care for it – the copious blood and nudity and bad language is a far way from his modern-day family-friendly action star persona.
Indeed it certainly seems strange to hear Chan speak such lines so that's a novel experience in itself.The plot itself is wafer thin, but makes some good use of American and Hong Kong on-the-street locations which get the gritty atmosphere across really well.
It's business as usual as the two cops go head-to-head against a drug lord who's kidnapped his rival's daughter, and along the way, exploitation director James Glickenhaus throws in loads of pointless but well-shot action sequences and nude women who have no reason to be naked.
There seems to be some kind of Bond influence going on here, with some large-scale stunts and lots of chases, my favourite being the fight on a platform supported by a huge crane, and the cheesy death of the uber-villain has to be seen to be believed.Danny Aiello does his best as Chan's partner, but he's completely overshadowed by the Chinese star, plus he's given a really obnoxious, selfish and rude character to work with, so definitely not a film to see him in a good light.
Roy Chiao makes for an imposing villain but is underused, whilst Bill "Superfoot" Wallace is GREAT as the chief bad guy, who kicks Jackie's backside in the finale and ends up using an angle-grinder on our hero!
Not only does the movie look great, thanks to its excellent cinematography, but it truly is Jackie Chan as you've never seen him before.
We can see why he and director Glickenhaus had a falling out over differing visions, but, without giving away any spoilers, you just have to check out the scene between Jackie and none other than Big John Studd.
Plus, we get to see a slimmer Danny Aiello teamed with Jackie Chan.
Aiello wears a red jacket with no shirt, but with a medallion, which was a cool style for the day, and he's familiar with Hong Kong in the film because he was in Vietnam and they used to go there for R & R.The Protector is a winner - it's just wildly enjoyable fun from beginning to end.
Tough New York City cop Billy Wong (a solid and likable performance by Jackie Chan) and his scruffy partner Danny Garoni (amiable Danny Aiello) are sent to Hong Kong to take down nefarious drug lord Mr. Koo (a nicely slimy turn by Roy Chiao), who has kidnapped the daughter (foxy redhead Saun Ellis) of his former associate.
While Glickenhaus's unapologetically rough-edged grindhouse style and sensibility didn't go over well with Chan's hardcore fans, it's nonetheless still a kick to see Jackie in such a down'n'dirty flick.
jackie chan's second American film is enjoyable, but not a typical chan film.
i am a huge chan fan, seen all his movies, and while this one is cerainly not his best.
it is still a good action movie, with some great fight scenes and stunt work.
but when it comes to the action, chan delivers, offering some truly brilliant stunts, and some brutal fight scenes.
most fans bash this movie, and i suppose i understand that if your wanting a typical chan comedy, but I've always loved him as an actor peiod and some of his best movies have been his dark serious one (crime story, new police story, and shinjuku incident).
This is a very mediocre Jackie Chan film and one of his absolute worst James Glickenhaus ruined it!.
This is a very mediocre Jackie Chan film and one of his absolute worst James Glickenhaus ruined it!.
All the characters are decent i guess, but the story is so so, however Jackie Chan is still amazing in this even if he did look bored.
Jackie and Danny Aiello had zero chemistry together, and it was very boring a lot of times, however the finale was above average and managed to be fairly entertaining, and had some good stunts!.
This is a very mediocre Jackie Chan film, and one of his absolute worst James Glickenhaus ruined it!, not recommended even for Die hard Jackie Chan fans.
Jackie Chan is AMAZING as always, however he is not his usual energetic self, and looks bored and Ps*ed off throughout the film, had zero chemistry with Danny Aiello, and i really don't blame him either!