A weak film from top to bottom. The Protector stars Jackie Chan as the lead in a story about a New York City cop and his partner looking to take down a drug kingpin from Hong Kong. Jackie Chan is obviously the only reason why anyone would be interested in seeing this film but he's completely miscast and underutilized. The main character is written as a gruff, no nonsense type that completely clashes with Chan's style of lighthearted, comedic characters. To be fair, Chan has done well with serious material in other films, but the script here is so hollow that he's only allowed to be one note and ultimately dull.
Then of course there's the issue with the martial arts sequences. The whole appeal of a Jackie Chan movie after all. Sadly, Chan had no say in the staging of any of the fight scenes and was outright denied to work on said scenes by the director. The result is martial arts sequences sloppily directed with little to no flow or energy.
But even if you take Jackie Chan completely out of the conversation, The Protector still doesn't work. The performances are dull, the script is generic, the score is awful, and the non fighting action scenes are awkwardly edited.
If you can, see the Hong Kong cut of the film. It has much better editing, improved choreography, and some added weighty material compared to the US cut.
Regardless, this is one of the weakest films Jackie Chan has ever been in.
Then of course there's the issue with the martial arts sequences. The whole appeal of a Jackie Chan movie after all. Sadly, Chan had no say in the staging of any of the fight scenes and was outright denied to work on said scenes by the director. The result is martial arts sequences sloppily directed with little to no flow or energy.
But even if you take Jackie Chan completely out of the conversation, The Protector still doesn't work. The performances are dull, the script is generic, the score is awful, and the non fighting action scenes are awkwardly edited.
If you can, see the Hong Kong cut of the film. It has much better editing, improved choreography, and some added weighty material compared to the US cut.
Regardless, this is one of the weakest films Jackie Chan has ever been in.