Sep. 06, 2006 - Issue #568: Sex in the City
Protector never forgets its fight film formula
How fitting then that The Protector uses both. Kham (Tony Jaa) is a young Thai warrior who comes from a lineage of elephant protectors. The formidable beast is one that is seen to give the king power, so raising and defending them is an honourable profession.
However, the pachyderms have long been hunted and poached, and when Kham’s elephants are whisked away to Australia, he has only one thing to do—go to Oz and bring them safely home.
Okay, let’s be honest here. Nobody goes to see a fight film for the acting—or even a deep and compelling story. We actually seem to enjoy these films, in part, for their cheesy dialogue and spotty plots. But what we really want to see is our honourable hero kick some serious ass. And The Protector does not disappoint on any of these counts. The cheese factor is at its height in the beginning, during the story setup. Kham is seen giggling and fawning over his beloved elephants, both as a young boy and into his young adulthood. Jaa’s feigned innocence rings so falsely that it’s literally laughable.
But director Prachya Pinkaew (Ong-Bak) soon immerses us in action, delivering us a chase scene that takes out speed boats and water markets. When the film flies us to Sydney, however, things inevitably escalate into many battles of might.
Jaa’s fighting style is typified by short, quick manoeuvres and is stunning to watch. There are simply no wasted movements and you can almost see how he himself envisions his own transfer of energy.
The first major fight sequence involves a gang of BMX bikers and roller bladers and is so slickly choreographed that you want the enemies to just keep coming.
But there’s a story (sort of) to unravel here that involves a band of dirty cops, a gang and some extorted innocents. When Kham lands in Sydney, he almost immediately finds himself in trouble with the law when he inadvertently hops into a stolen cab. He manages to escape, but his face is plastered all over the television.
That doesn’t stop him, however, from single-mindedly proceeding with his mission, and he slowly uncovers the mystery behind his stolen elephants with the help of Thai-born Aussie cop Mark (Petchtai Khongmalai).
When Kham discovers one of his elephants is dead, he goes on a rampage against an endless supply of fighters, reminiscent of Neo’s fight against Anderson in the second Matrix. There’s plenty of bone-crunching moments to feast on, but Pinkaew’s comedic eye is never too far off, as he pans back from the scene to display a floor riddled with fallen gangsters.
I don’t have to tell you how it ends. This is a story that’s been told in countless films. Besides, the story is almost incidental—just as it should be. V
Opens Fri, Sep 8
The Protector
Directed by Prachya Pinkaew
Written by Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Napalee, joe wannapin
Starring Tony Jaa, Xing Jing,
Johnny Nguyen
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