The Protector
Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: September 8, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
9
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
A furiously choreographed martial-arts spectacle wrapped in a fumbling narrative. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The Protector is about 84 minutes long, and only four of those minutes are devoted to plot. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
The Protector is the nuttiest movie I've seen all year, and I've seen the last 20 minutes of "The Wicker Man." Read full review
70
The New York TimesNathan Lee
The Protector supersizes the formula of "Ong Bak." Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyMarc Bernardin
It's silly, at times laughable, sure, but Jaa has a reckless, bone-cracking grace that transcends the film's triviality. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleBrian Clark
But while every expertly choreographed Muy Thai bout delivers, the film suffers from haphazard editing. Entire sequences of explanation are missing, as if Pinkaew made a 2 1/2 hour martial-arts film and then cut everything but the fighting scenes. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Delivers a steady stream of cheap B-movie thrills, plus two positive messages for young people: Be nice to animals, and when in doubt, always aim for the tendons. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
While the story's silly, the stunts, choreographed by Jaa and popular Thai filmmaker Panna Rittikrai, are spectacular. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The movie is a series of ever more elaborate fight sequences and increasingly more and larger opponents. Read full review
60
VarietyDerek Elley
Boasting the same refreshing avoidance of CGI and wire work as "Warrior," slickly made production (largely by the same team) is more consciously aimed at the international market, with its Australian setting and multilingual dialogue. Read full review
58
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Even a superstar needs to surround himself with better material than this. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyLuke Y. Thompson
Jaa has the skills for the job, and shows them off in numerous fight scenes; it's just a shame that the movie he's in is barely acceptable in any other respect. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Lives up to Tarantino's imprimatur, both in its cheesy grind house aesthetic and its occasional forays into brilliant, bravura filmmaking. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterRichard James Havis
A relentless focus on action over character and story will leave more mainstream viewers cold. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's little more than a disjointed succession of kick-ass action scenes. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
A bad film with a great star and some truly amazing action sequences. Read full review
50
SlateDana Stevens
In truth, only hard-core martial-arts fans will be able to keep from squirming in their seats with boredom through at least some parts of this 82-minute kablammo-fest. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderReece Pendleton
A general lack of charm make this pretty tough to sit through. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Anytime Jaa isn't on screen, The Protector sputters. Read full review
38
Miami HeraldPeter Debruge
The movie is basically a love story between a man and his elephant, and if viewed as such, it's not nearly as ridiculous as the movie it first appears to be. Read full review
30
Film ThreatMichael Ferraro
Sadly, the greatness of Jaa's movements are drowned by an ocean of bad editing, terrible dubbing, disorienting action sequences, and repetitive fight sequences that feel as if they were copied straight from a side-scrolling videogame like "Streets of Rage." Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
This ludicrous Quentin Tarantino-chosen low-budget movie features choppy editing and an amateurish script, and it switches strangely back and forth between dubbing and subtitles. Read full review
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