2
(positive themes in the reshoot but nothing direct)
6/3
(violence, very brief nudity / graphic violence, full frontal nudity, perverted sexuality, very strong language)
4/2
(worth seeing for Jackie Chan fans / so bad it's amusing)
"The Protector" is Jackie Chan’s second American made movie with him as the star (not including Cannonball Run, in other words). While slightly more readily available than his first American movie, Battle Creek Brawl, it has until recently been very hard to find on DVD even on the internet which is surely because it is awful.
If you are a collector that wants to see or own The Protector the main fact you need to know is that there are 2 vastly different edits available (thus the double rating above). Jackie was so upset about the end result of the movie that he changed the edit and even shot completely new scenes to create a vastly different Hong Kong version. Personally I think his version is considerably better and recommend it over the original. I’ll try to give you as much information as I can about both.
The first negative is the plot. It’s weak and slow. Jackie and Danny Aiello are cops assigned to menial duties as a result of their penchants for getting into trouble. Being in the right place at the right time they witness a kidnapping. They are able to determine that the victim was taken to Hong Kong and is caught in the middle of a misunderstanding between her criminal father and a Chinese drug lord. Rescuing her means Jackie and Danny going to Hong Kong (where Jackie’s character, Billy, is originally from) and facing off against the might of Mr. Ko. Ko has influence in high places so the cops set out to make allies of their own, some that are strong and brave enough to stand up to Ko’s thugs. It’s a deadly battle that not everyone will survive.
The fighting is stiff although we do get to see Jackie use some of his patented use-anything-as-a-weapon style. In the Hong Kong version Jackie’s final battle with Superfoot Wallace is redone to make it more exciting and fluid. Another fight scene was added in classic Lucky Stars style with Jackie facing off against two physical fitness trainers interested in impressing a girl. It’s fast and funny with Jackie using weightlifting equipment and other things in his battle. This one scene more than anything made me glad I bought the movie. Very little of the rest of the action is impressive.
Comparing Jackie’s original fight scene to the rest of the movie, I don’t see how Glickenhaus, the original director, got into movies. His stuff is pretty bad. Take for example a shootout scene in which a man is lifted off his feet and carried through a window by the force of a hand gun. Can we say physics taking a back seat? It’s stupid stuff like that that worsens the movie.
The acting is decent at best. Don’t expect anything good. Danny Aiello doesn’t completely suck, but he still falls into typical B-movie action cheesiness. Jackie struggle with his English which hurts his performance. A couple of the Asian actors aren’t bad, but they aren’t given enough light to actually shine.
Morality
The questionable content is a major difference between the two edits. The original puts 5 different women on display with full-frontal nudity. One scene is sexual but brief as a masseuse offers herself up to a man. The rest are naked ladies working in a drug lab – it's non-sexual but lengthy and shown over the course of multiple shots. A couple of male butts are shown in the background of a community shower. There are other sexual situations and perverted discussions.
The strong language is frequent and severe with plenty of F bombs and other choice words.
The violence is often bloody and over the top. I already mentioned the thug being blown out of a window. In that same scene we see other guys shot multiple times. Jackie's fights aren't especially brutal; we mostly only see bloody deaths when the firearms come out.
Much of the story revolves around drugs, although the druggie types are criminals who must be stopped by the heroes.
The Hong Kong version takes that down to around PG13 level material. All of the female nudity is completely removed. Only some background male butts remain as far as nudity; blink and you’ll miss them.
Since the voices are overdubbed by Asian actors and the movie then subtitled in English rather than using the original soundtrack, almost all of the strong language has been removed. I didn't notice any F-bombs or anything else generally considered to be R rated language. You’ll hear worse on a tame TV show.
The violence is still more graphic than the typical Jackie Chan flick, but there's generally less focus on it. Jackie's new fight choreography is more like what he usually does with a sense of humorous fun and no severe injuries.
Spirituality
This is, at it's core, a fairly shallow movie. There is some sense of protecting the innocent and helping others, but by and large it's not going to leave you contemplating much in life.
The Hong Kong version does add a bit of repentence and forgiveness involving one of the criminals although it is not put in a spiritual context. Sally's uncle realizes the error of his ways and begins taking steps to turn his life around, if perhaps reluctantly at first, with the help of Billy and Sally.
We don't see a lot of repentence in action films. Patrons seem to like villains getting their comeuppance rather than attempting to turn over a new leaf. It's unfortunate that we don't get more change of heart in our characters.
Final Thoughts
Even as a collector of Jackie Chan movies I only have the American version because I got it free. It's by far one of Jackie's absolute worst. The Hong Kong version has some merit with fights worth watching and a more intelligent new subplot. If you can get your hands on it you might want to check it out, but it still lacks overall compared to many of Jackie's other works.
Bonus:
A while back I drew up a list of all the differences I noticed between the two versions. As I updated my review for the Righteous Recommendations website I looked around and didn't see any other simlar list with as much detail as mine, so I will recreate it here in case anyone has that much interest. There may be some spoilers here. The comments are made from the point of view of watching the newer Hong Kong version.
-Jackie's version is updated to say that the big rig (set upon by criminals in the first scenes) was carrying computers. The original line that says “You stopped for a red light in the Bronx?” is now “…a red light with a truckload of computers?”
-Jackie shoots Big John Studd multiple times. The original version had fewer shots although there may be "uncut" American versions that include the longer scene.
-The boat crash during the first big chase sequence is better with quicker edits
-There’s a funeral for Jackie’s (Billy’s) dead partner whereas the original has no such scene.
-A line referencing Jackie as a “supercop” is added (an inside joke for Chan fans).
-The black cop that claps for Jackie first speaks to him (in original he only claps).
-The “chink” reference is removed from the fashion show scene.
-The reference to heroin is cut out.
-The scene with the Chinese cop is changed as Jackie & Danny investigate in Hong Kong. Now he tells them that the superintendent has been chasing Ko for a long time and is afraid the American cops will get in the way (justifying the superintendent’s resistance to them, in other words). He also gives them the clue that the massage parlor is linked to Ko where no such explanation is given for their visit in the original version.
-The scene of Jackie & Danny entering the massage parlor is cut.
-Though there is a shot of a guy’s butt in the background of the parlor, all female nudity and sexual references have been cut from these scenes.
-New Scene: Jackie meets Sally at her ballet rehearsal. The following fight is the best scene in the movie. Sally is introduced as a new link to Lee Hing, who ultimately leads the cops to Ko in the original plot, adding a little more strength to the plot.
-The dialogue during the trip to the boat to meet Hing is altered to fit with the new Sally sub-plot. The boat trip is a lot shorter.
-Lee Hing’s dialogue when meeting the cops is shortened and changed. His reason for helping is different (more honorable) and Soo, his daughter, becomes Jackie’s contact instead of the black guy as in the original.
-New Scene: Ko has his henchman beaten for his failure to assassinate Lee Hing which will later tie in to the new Sally sub-plot.
-The dialogue during the assassination is changed and cleaned. It sounds more natural and realistic than the original.
-New Scene: Benny comes to Hong Kong.
-There is no scene of Jackie and Danny discussing horses as in the original.
-New Scene: (actually just a quick shot) Ko arrives at the horse dedication in his helicopter.
-Ko’s speech at the dedication is shortened.
-The plan of action Jackie and Danny discuss after throwing the bribe money at Ko changes. It more clearly explains what is about to happen.
-New Scene: Benny (played by Superfoot Wallace) visits the kidnapped Laura. An arrangement is made to pay a ransom for her equal to the amount of an unpaid shipment. With relations between the organizations smoothed out, Benny wants to help get rid of the cops before they can cause any more trouble. The bad guys are now united against the cops although Laura is not immediately released.
-New Scene: Hing has a midnight meeting with his friend finding out where Laura is being held: a secret heroin lab. It adds more realism to the process of the investigation. This leads into the fight Hing and his friend have with Benny which is in both versions.
-The fight with Hing’s friend and Benny is faster with better editing.
-Jackie meets Soo at the shipyards at night instead of on the boat.
-Hing’s death is less violent though his friend’s is more gruesome.
-There is no fortune teller scene as in the original.
-New Scene: Jackie goes to see Sally at her home and saves her from a bomb. The henchman he chased on the boat (the same one Ko had beaten) is Sally’s uncle. He shows up ready to turn over a new leaf and rats out Ko to Jackie in exchange for safety. This leads into Danny staking out the shipyard which is in both versions.
-New Scene: Jackie takes Sally and her uncle to the airport to escape Ko.
-There is no meeting between Ko and Benny as in the original.
-The conversation on the boat as the cops prepare to invade the secret lab is changed. There are no lines about what might happen if they get caught. There is a new line about containers being welded together which serves to explain how a space as large as a building can exist in a stack of shipping containers.
-There are several new and altered shots of the adventures in the shipping container lab. Shots of Benny have been added. Every last bit of nudity (which is pretty extensive in the original version) is removed meaning that some of the action, though basically the same in both versions, has been re-shot. For example, the scene where Laura is rescued includes 4 nude women in the original, but for the new version it’s just prison guards which makes more sense anyway. Even if 4 butt-naked women working in an heroin lab is realistic, which I doubt, having the prison in the same room (which is the setup in the original version) doesn’t make sense. The guards’ reactions are pretty much the same just without the naked women.
-The final fight has been re-shot to look much better and faster. Most of the blocking is the same as the original, but it’s smoother and generally more exciting. Jackie now uses clay pots and such as weapons, and there is more chainsaw action. Benny still cuts through the stack of pallets, but now Jackie is rolling across the top of them. Benny also still gets electrocuted, but the angles are different.
-The editing is tighter in the final scene and the dialogue is different.
-The closing theme is more exciting with outtakes of the stuntwork.
Buying Guide
If you're looking for Jackie Chan's “Protector” the first thing you need to decide is if you're looking for the original American version or the Hong Kong edit. Check out the review for the details of what sets them apart from each other.
I'll be looking more closely at a bare-bones DVD of the original and a Chinese import of the Hong Kong edit. In addition to those are at least two other region 0 DVD imports. They appear to offer pretty much the same thing as the one I have except that they offer no extras, and one of them is non-anamorphic widescreen.
You can import it on Blu-ray as well. Once again, details are limited, but it looks like you'll get the Hong Kong edit with 5.1 surround sound and most likely a widescreen image. I can't confirm that it offers an HD presentation. English and Chinese are listed both for the audio tracks and for captions. Note that there is a Japanese import with only Japanese subtitle options so if you go the import route be careful of what you get.
Lastly is a double-feature with “Crime Story” offered on both DVD and Blu. The DVD version includes the original U.S. cut of “The Protector,” but the Blu include both versions. Count on a widescreen image though the quality might not be high. Reviews give it low marks although at least one person has said it is still an improvement over what has been previously available on DVD. The surround sound, on the other hand, gets relatively high marks. It appears that English and Chinese are offered for audio and subtitles. Both formats offer at least a few extras for both movies, but the Blu appears to include more of them.
Final Recommendation:
The double-feature Blu is unquestionably the best possible release of “The Protector” (and most likely “Crime Story” as well). You get both edits, the only notable extras available, and improved even if imperfect quality. If you can't go Blu I'd still say the DVD version is better than the others if you're looking for the U.S. version. If you want the Hong Kong version on DVD the import I'll talk about below (from Universe Laser & Video) is the best option even though it lacks in a lot of areas. And just in case you haven't read the review, the Hong Kong edit is vastly superior to the original U.S. The solo American DVD is the least desirable option unless you find a really good deal and don't care about anything else I've mentioned (I have it only because I wanted to review it and then only because I got it free).
The Universe Laser & Video Hong Kong import I found is a single disc DVD. It's region free and plays just fine on all my standard American equipment.
Video
1.85 NA:
Unfortunately this is a non-anamorphic presentation which means you'll be watching it in a window (black bars on all 4 sides) on a widescreen TV. The image quality is rough with low resolution, thin colors, and a good bit of trash.
Audio
5.1 Dolby:
The audio is clear but weak. It sounds flat with virtually nothing on the low end. The surround sound makes itself known from time to time but usually feels deficient.
Though the original movie was in English the Hong Kong edit was redubbed in Chinese. That recreated language track is what you'll get here (both Mandarin and Cantonese included) with English subtitles available (along with a number of others). There is no English audio track.
Packaging
The case is standard plastic.
The interface is very simple with odd captions for the buttons like “On Air” instead of “Play.”
A number of long animated logos prelude the interface.
This is the redone Hong Kong edit only.
Extras
The American DVD from HBO is also a single disc release.
Video
1.85 widescreen:
This is an anamorphic widescreen presentation, but it doesn't look all that good. The dark colors are washed out, it looks very grainy, and it has a bit of trash in it. As bad as it is it's still a good bit better than the Hong Kong print.
Audio
2.0 Dolby:
The audio is clean but otherwise not very good. It's flat, with virtually no bass and not enough rear fill to keep it from sounding like it comes entirely from the front speakers.
Packaging
The case is standard plastic.
The interface is a static image with music.
This includes the original U.S. edit only.
Extras