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"THE PROTECTOR" (2006) (Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Moderate Extreme Mild Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Moderate *None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Moderate Mild Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action: A young man travels from Thailand to Australia where he must battle various villains while trying to save the elephants he's vowed to protect. PLOT: Following in his father's footsteps, Kham (TONY JAA) has been raised with and taught in the ways of protecting elephants, specifically using the martial arts known as Muay Thai. But when his father is wounded as their adult male elephant, Por Yai, and his son, Kohrn, are stolen, Kham ends up traveling from Thailand to Sydney, Australia in hopes of retrieving his pachyderms. With just a photo of the man responsible, Johnny (JOHNNY TRI NGUYEN), Kham starts his search, but an unfortunate encounter with a criminal gives the wrong impression to local cop Mark (PHETTHAI WONGKHAMLAO) and his partner who arrest him. Kham manages to escape, runs into a local woman Pla (BONGKOD KONGMALAI) who helps him, battles Johnny and his thugs, and eventually makes his way up through their criminal enterprise to the steely Madame Rose (JIN XING). She'll do anything to be the only heir to her family's operations, including killing any competitors and using elephants for their supposedly mystical powers from long ago. Having to battle Johnny, and an assortment of physically imposing thugs, Kham does what he can to defeat them and Rose, and try to save his precious elephants. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into martial arts films, they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For pervasive strong violence and some sexual content. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: TONY JAA plays a man trained in the ways of protecting elephants who goes on a rescue mission to save two of his own. Proficient in martial arts and various acrobatic stunts, he ends up battling all sorts of villains, often with bone-crunching results. PHETTHAI WONGKHAMLAO plays a local cop who arrests but then ends up teamed with Kham to try to defeat the villains. JIN XING plays the ruthless woman who wants to be the sole heir to her family's criminal business and will do anything to make sure no one gets in her way. JOHNNY TRI NGUYEN plays her main thug who runs part of the criminal operation and battles Kham. BONGKOD KONGMALAI plays a local woman who's briefly kind to Kham. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action film that's been rated R. Profanity consists of at least 3 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also present. Some women (possibly topless) are seen bathing a man in a mud bath, while another does a sexy dance for her client in the same. A couple (possibly a prostitute and client) is interrupted in a brothel or hotel bed (a split-second view of them), and a woman stands nude in front of a man when getting out of a tub (we don't see anything explicit). Violence consists of all sorts of brutal martial arts fighting and blows (punches, kicks and more), with many accompanying sounds of breaking bones, and many injuries and some presumed deaths occur from that. Other characters are shot to death, more die in explosions during a speedboat chase, one falls to her presumed death, some are poisoned, and violence against elephants occurs. Some of that violence has bloody results and might be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, while all of the fighting and other stunts might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some drugs are briefly seen but not used. Finally, a man finds his father has been shot, but we don't know his fate. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's a great deal of camera movement in the film (some of it rather bouncy). ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE We see some miscellaneous drinking. We briefly see the villains discussing large bags of drugs they're running (it looks like cocaine, but is never identified). A comment is later made about them dealing in narcotics. BLOOD/GORE We see some blood on a mother elephant after she's been shot. We see some blood on a wall after a man's back has been cut by shattered glass, while another man's face is rather bloody after Kham has hit him. During a fight, we briefly see a man sitting on the toilet (from the chest up), but don't hear or see any bodily functions. An assassin enters a room and shoots several people in a mud bath dead (we see blood running down the muddy chest of one man). A man has some blood on his head after Kham strikes him there. A man's face is very bloody while fighting with Kham. Kham has some blood on his chest while battling some opponents. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Rose, Johnny and the rest of the villains all have bad attitudes for stealing Kham's elephants, running an exotic animal trade (including for restaurant food), and dealing drugs as well as prostitutes. Some of the police are in cahoots with the criminals. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, particularly if they have low tolerance levels for such material (including sounds of bones breaking, violence against animals, etc.). Some men go to capture the young elephant Kohrn, but some gunfire is heard, they run away (with one running face-first into a tree) and we see the elephant's mother, mortally wounded. She lies down, with some bullet holes in her thick skin (with some blood down from that), and Kohrn lies across her. After a man shoots Kham's father, the adult elephant Por Yai chases after the shooter and others through the crowded streets. When he (the elephant) sees that they're driving his son away in a cage, Por Yai chases after that (causing some incidental property damage), but to no avail. Kham helps save some monks from a burning and flooded monastery. Kham finds a decorated elephant skeleton that be believes was Por Yai. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Machine guns/Knives/Swords/Whip: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound, or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Who the hell are you?" "Move and I'll kick your ass," "Pissed off," "What the hell /are you doing/have you done?" "Scum," "Shut up," "Screw this up," "Creep," "Get the hell out of here," "You're a damn good cop" and "Smart ass." All of the fighting and other stunts may be enticing for some kids to try to imitate. Some brief stunts on motorbikes and inline skates might be enticing for some kids to imitate. A man eats what appears to be a live scorpion (dropping the entire thing into his mouth). Johnny and others have varying amounts and styles of tattoos on their bodies. We see a villain whose name (or at least a word) shows up as large scars on his bare chest. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of action-based, dramatic and some suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None, but some songs contained lyrics that we couldn't fully hear and/or understand, thus presenting the possibility that they could contain objectionable lyrics. PROFANITY At least 3 "s" words, 6 hells, 2 asses and 1 damn. SEX/NUDITY A young woman shows some cleavage. We see two young women playfully washing an older, shirtless man in a huge, mud-filled tub (they could be topless, but the thick mud covering their bodies makes it hard to tell if they're nude). Another woman then enters (wearing a tankini type top and bikini bottom), doing sensual moves as she enters the mud tub and goes over to another man where she nearly does a lap dance on him (with the camera showing her mud-covered cleavage, bikini bottom and more in close-up and slow motion). Nothing else happens as that man appears to have a heart attack (or something similar) and then an assassin enters the room and shoots all but the last woman dead. As Kham fights his way through what appears to be a brothel/hotel, he briefly enters a room where a couple is on the bed and the woman recoils, but it's a split-second shot so we didn't note any nudity if any was present. We see Rose in a bathtub filled with what look like rose petals, but only see her bare back. She then stands as a bad male detective holds a robe up for her, meaning he sees her nudity (we briefly see a partial view of her bare butt) before they kiss while standing (he's clothed, she's in her robe that's open toward him, but we don't see anything). At various points in the film, Kham and other men are seen shirtless while battling each other. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Kham's father pushes another man and struggles with others when he learns men are going to steal his elephant. One man then pushes him down and shoots him (we don't see the impact, but Kham rushes to him moments later, and his father tells him to save the elephant, so we don't know if the father lives or dies). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Certain cultures believing animal parts to possess spiritual powers. Martial arts and whether people could experience blows such as those that occur here and continue fighting. VIOLENCE Some men go to capture the young elephant Kohrn, but some gunfire is heard, they run away (with one running face-first into a tree) and we see the elephant's mother, mortally wounded. She lies down, with some bullet holes in her thick skin (with some blood down from that), and Kohrn lies across her. Kham's father pushes another man and struggles with others when he learns men are going to steal his elephant. One man then pushes him down and shoots him (we don't see the impact, but Kham rushes to him moments later, and his father tells him to save the elephant, so we don't know if the father lives or dies). Por Yai chases after a cage holding his son, causing some incidental property damage during the pursuit. Kham strikes many people (kicks, punches and more) as he tries to find his elephants. One man with glass bulbs attached to his back is pushed back to a wall and then smashed into it, shattering the glass and presumably cutting his back. We hear bone-breaking sounds from other blows, and one man tries to shoot Kham, but the latter easily disarms that man. A speedboat chase ensues, with men shooting at Kham from theirs to his. During this, one boat wipes out the supports beneath a large dock, causing it and the people on it to fall into the water. Another boat crashes and explodes, a man fires a machine gun from a helicopter at Kham, followed by a boat flying through the air and crashing into that chopper, causing both to explode. Police chase after a stolen taxi, ending when the driver holds a gun on Kham (his passenger). Kham twists the man's wrist, a bad detective shoots that driver dead, and Kham then runs away, chased by Mark and others until he's finally captured at gunpoint. To escape from Mark and his partner who've wrongly arrested him, Kham grabs the partner (driver) around the neck so that he (Kham) can get out. The cops' car then crashes without much impact. Kham confronts Johnny and his thugs, with Johnny twice kicking Kham down to the street with brutal blows. Kham then fights with several men, including kicking one off a truck. Kham kicks and otherwise strikes several men. Many men come after Kham holding long fluorescent light bulbs with which they try to strike him (and some do make contact). Kham strikes many of them in various ways, including punching, kicking or otherwise knocking them into things, while also battling men on motorbikes and inline skates (in the same fashion). One such person on a motorbike comes at Kham doing a wheelie, but runs into some sort of electrical panel, causing sparks to fly, but the driver does not appear to be electrocuted. As that or another man chases after Kham, the latter jumps up, flips over and grabs the driver by his helmet, yanking him backwards, hard from the bike. He punches him hard and then continues to kick and otherwise strike others, followed by a man on a studded ATV coming after him (the points on it capable of cutting Kham). Kham, however, scales a large glass panel through which the ATV driver crashes, but we don't see the secondary impact below. Kham imagines the legends behind his fighting lessons (represented by stone-like, computer-animated figures battling each other with swords and such). An assassin enters a room and shoots several people in a mud bath dead (we see blood running down the muddy chest of one man). A bad detective then enters the room, shoots the assassin and Mark's partner dead, and shoots Mark in the hand. The cop then throws hot candle wax in several men's faces so that he can escape. It's implied that Kham hit a number of cops (now seen lying on the street in pain) to free a young woman. Kham fights with and strikes many people as he enters what looks like a brothel/hotel leading to a restaurant at the top of a grand staircase leading around a large atrium. In this several minute sequence, he hits and kicks many assailants, throws or otherwise knocks some through or over the stairwell railing down into the atrium (with longer falls as he goes to the higher floors), throws one down the stairs, bashes others into things, and hits the rest with various objects, as some try to do the same back to him. Kham finally gets to the restaurant level where Johnny kicks him many times, flooring him. He comes back, however, and proceeds to beat up Johnny and his crew with punches and kicks, followed by disarming a woman who comes at him with a knife. After being told she can't inherit the criminal business since she's a woman, we see that Rose has apparently poisoned her male competitor heirs via their food (we see them convulsing, and their deaths are implied). Kham fights several adversaries in a flooded monastery, with him delivering and receiving various brutal blows. During this, his second opponent throws a sword at him before retrieving and then trying to strike him with it (Kham defends himself with some sort of poles). His third opponent is a huge, muscular man who allows Kham to hit and kick him repeatedly with little ill effect. However, when Kham finally draws blood on his opponent's head, the huge man lifts him off the floor, throws him into a pillar, and then kicks him hard back against the wall. Kham hits several men at a meeting, followed by more fighting as well as Mark shooting (and wounding or killing) many men. Many men hit Kham (seen in slow-motion) with him just standing there in a daze, taking the blows. That is, until one stabs him, thus causing him to spring into action. He then takes on an enormous amount of men, delivering brutal kicks, punches and other blows, many with loud, bone-breaking sounds (as he twists, bends and otherwise breaks various limbs). During this, the young (but still fairly large) elephant enters the fray but is pushed and then thrown aside. As the fighting continues, Kham beats up the huge, muscular man from before, delivering many brutal blows before that man does the same back to Kham. Rose then hits Kham with a whip and kicks him, followed by Kham being lifted via that whip around his neck, and another man then kicks him from there. Additional muscular guys arrive and fight Kham, with him eventually using large elephant bones to bash many of them. After remembering a battle strategy (seen like the above, computer-animated, stone-figure sequence), he then uses a sharp end of one such bone to cut the tendons on the big men's legs and arms (including stabbing one in the foot through his shoe). Rose hits Kham again with her whip and throws a knife at him before he catches her whip on the next strike and she flees. He then follows her to the rooftop where he kicks her away from a helicopter and kicks another man from the chopper, but Rose manages to get back on the cable lift trailing below the chopper as it takes off. Kham then runs and kicks her off that cable in mid-air, with both falling (we see her crash through an atrium, presumably to her death). Reviewed September 5, 2006 / Posted September 8, 2006

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