Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Tai Seng Entertainme
• VHS Release Date: November 26, 1996
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304268459
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,288 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In Jackie Chan's first American movie, Chan and Danny Aiello (Do the Right Thing, Moonstruck) are cops who don't play by the rules. They're sent to Hong Kong to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy New York scumbag who's mixed up with an insidious heroin kingpin; to investigate, they go to a massage parlor, where the women try to kill them in the middle of providing sexual favors. It's not surprising that the gunplay is mundane, but even Chan's fight sequences are banal and unsurprising. The only entertainment value comes from absurdities, like a band of carjackers dressed like Adam and the Ants, or a sequence where it's revealed that the smuggled heroin is stashed inside of melons--and the stashing process is, inexplicably, performed by naked women. Jackie also swears; apparently the director thought he was making a Dirty Harry movie. An embarrassment. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Jackie Chan's THE REEDITOR, June 27, 2001

By 

T. Tennard (NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Protector [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Protector was one of Jackie Chan's early attempts to break into the American movie market and overall it was a failure. The movie contains many unChan like elements such as excessive violence, nudity and profanity. The film's director apparently had the great idea to make Jackie Chan like Clint Eastwood, how ludicrous is that? Aside from a few stunts and a cool kick here and there the majority of the action is slow and clumsy, (How many times have you heard that said about a Jackie Chan film?). The final fight between Jackie Chan and Bill Wallace is one of the lamest fights you'll ever see Jackie Chan in. However the film was not a total failure. First, after producton wrapped Jackie Chan shot new scenes and redited the movie for it's Asian release. Jackie Chan's version edits out some of the violence and all of the profanity and nudity. A new subplot was added that introduced new characters and further advanced the original story. New action sequences were also filmed and they were edited in with some of the decent action scenes from the original. The end fight with Bill Wallace is so superior to the original version. Jackie Chan's version is in many ways a totally different movie. However even Jackie Chan's reedits could not totally save what was a pretty lame movie from the start. All in all his version is highly enjoyable. Good things always come out of bad situations and this film was no exception. The frustration from this movie inspired Jackie Chan to produce one of his absolute best films and that was Police Story. In many ways he did it to show The Protector's director, James Glickenhau, how to film an action movie. Jackie Chan's reedited subtitled version is the one to seek out, do not waste any time or money on the American version.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't listen to Leonard Maltin, October 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Protector [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is the HK version of the Protector, and much better than the American one. It has lots of the Jackie Chan mayhem you love, and some amazing stunts. (I'm not so sure about the plot, but Jackie Chan and plot seem to be mutually exclusive). It's also a hoot to hear Danny Aiello speaking perfect Chinese, and to see Jackie's lips speaking English, while his voice speaks Cantonese. However, I don't think I would pay $35 for it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nudity, Profanity, Less Comic Fight Scenes, Finally A Good Jackie Chan Movie!, September 10, 2008

By 

Shawn Kovacich "Shawn Kovacich" (The Greatest Little City in the World) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Protector (DVD)

Since when has it ever been written that Jackie Chan can't have nudity, profanity, and less comical fight scenes in one of his movies? NEVER!

I don't understand all of the fuss over the above mentioned things being in this movie. I don't recall it being produced by Disney! As far as the storyline goes, since when has a Jackie Chan storyline ever been nominated for an Oscar? NEVER!

Okay, now that I have got that off my chest, I shall continue with the review.

This movie, which was made in the 80's, is Jackie Chan's first "American" made film and it really isn't a bad one at all. Sure there are some holes in the plot and some, rather absurd scenes in the movie, but it is still a pretty good buddy-action movie featuring Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello, and my favorite, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace as the right hand man to the movies main villain.

The basic premise of the movie is that Jackie Chan is a New York City cop who is involved in a shooting where his partner is shot and killed and he goes rogue in order to get the man who killed his partner. This puts him in hot water with his boss (of course), and he ends up getting stuck on a "crap assignment" in which he and Aiello end up being witnesses to a kidnapping.

They end up getting assigned to the case and travel to Hong Kong where they run into a massage parlor full of beautiful naked women that end up trying to kill them, which is just one of many adventures they go through in their pursuit of the kidnappers. As the story unfolds, you end up finding out that there is a lot more going on than just a simple kidnapping.

The story progresses to the inevitable showdown at the end of the movie between Jackie Chan and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. The fight scenes, while not extraordinary by any means, are actually pretty entertaining and fun to watch. Although one must remember that you are not going to see the kind of fight scenes that are typical of a Jackie Chan movie in this film, but they are fairly enjoyable nonetheless.

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Creator of numerous books and DVD's.