Tony Jaa protects martial arts image, one punch at a time

By Paul Szaniawski

A Thai revolution has been raging in the martial arts film world during the last few years. The Protector reinforces the war effort against the old guard of martial arts epics.

The truly original genius of Tony Jaa has changed the international martial arts movie scene altogether by throwing Muay Thai into the pot and stripping off the greasy fat of using special effect strings to levitate stuntmen. The Protector gives American fans a chance to get their first glimpse (good luck, he’s quick) of the masterful Jaa since the amazing Muay Thai warrior movie Ong-Bak (2003). It packs an identical punch, a similar knee to the audience’s face, a furious elbow to the Asian film industry’s heart, but unfortunately leg sweeps every other movie ingredient under the rug.

In what pretends to be a plot, Kham (Jaa) grows up in Thailand on a farm that has two elephants, baby and mother. For an unknown reason, an Asian gang steals Kham’s overgrown pets and kills his father. He is then forced to travel to Australia, where he finds an army of corrupt cops and officials influenced by the same gang. Young Kham looks to foil some kind of plan involving the mysterious Asian power that is never fully explained.

The Protector is not your father’s martial arts flick. It is different than Bruce Lee epics in a jaw-dropping sense. This movie has many “No way!” scenes that American audiences have become accustomed to by watching the Jason Statham series, The Transporter (2002) and The Transporter II (2005). Throughout the flick, absolutely astounding actions pummel viewers’ eyes.

Heck, it’s not even your big brother’s choice. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had a huge emphasis on special effects and truly impossible scenes. The Protector is fists-down the most realistic film of the genre in years. It is quite evident that using special effects strings to swing and lift actors is a very insignificant weapon in Jaa’s arsenal. Although not a special effect, one of the most exciting and seemingly impossible aspects of the film is Jaa’s own amazing gymnastic attributes. With legs that can hammer like pile drivers and arms that flail like, well, flails, the Muay Thai expert makes you do a double — no, a triple — look at his remarkable stunts.

Alongside Jaa, returning actors from his first huge release Ong-bak include Petchtai Wongkamlao, who co-stars in the film as the responsible Australian cop with a Thai background. The most recognizable talent in pure stature is former WWE wrestler and World’s Strongest Man competitor Nathan Jones (Troy). He is the perfect choice for the deadly bodyguard character T.K., Kham’s toughest nemesis. His furious demeanor is borderline spine-shattering. Some of the most satisfying scenes in the film are when Kham battles T.K. ­— these are most likely many people of the western world’s favorite scenes. Many powerful manhandling maneuvers are choreographed into the fight scenes that seem straight out of the former wrestler’s chosen playbook.

However, one scene that is sure to electrify fans is when Kham wanders into a burning edifice. While there, he encounters a mysterious man skilled in the art of Capoeira. This is a must-see for anyone unfamiliar with the Brazilian martial art. It isn’t clear why Kham enters the temple-looking building, but once the fight begins the action makes up for it.

The scene’s fighting doesn’t end with the Capoeira master. There should be a warning at the bottom of the screen that advises, “don’t pull your eyes away yet, there’s more.” It is not every day that a movie’s best fighting sequence is followed by even more action.

Although, the random fights may be great, they fit very poorly into the story. The film’s original version, Tom Yum Goong, is half an hour longer than the American release of 82 minutes. A majority of the film’s plot was eliminated so international audiences would not be lost. The plot is almost nonexistent and is the film’s largest drawback.

In the end, The Protector’s fan base didn’t exactly throw down their cash at the box office to watch dialogue, some of which is in Thai with English subtitles. Instead of the “thumbs-down” rating it deserves for not explaining anything, The Protector gets a rating of “2 black eyes” way up.