Bone-crunching action triumphs over story and, uh, character development.

| Jan 13, 2009

It's tremendously refreshing to see a film that relies solely on the choreography of its athletic star to make the action work.

Full Review | Mar 24, 2007

Pretty tough to sit through.

| Dec 15, 2006

Exactly like an elephant, mostly slow and lumbering -- but with great menacing charges of excitement.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Dec 15, 2006

Jaa's ingratiatingly ridiculous Protector 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.

| Original Score: B- | Sep 23, 2006

By the end you're so invigorated that narrative issues seem like an afterthought.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 23, 2006

It's silly, at times laughable, sure, but Jaa has a reckless, bone-cracking grace that transcends the film's triviality. For fight fans, he's worth the price of admission.

| Original Score: B- | Sep 23, 2006

When you've got a male lead who can break heads like Tony Jaa, a little bit of story line goes a long way.

| Sep 8, 2006

As a breathtaking follow-up to 2003's Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior, it's a whole lotta fun.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 8, 2006

... include[s] some incredible sequences of precision-engineered ultraviolence ...

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 8, 2006

Listen, I can't in good conscience recommend this thing. Even as a guilty pleasure, the acting and story or so bad even Uwe Boll would be embarrassed to have them on display in one of his misbegotten features.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 8, 2006

The Protector is a bad film with a great star and some truly amazing action sequences. The movie is lackluster mainly because the Weinstein Co. and 'presenter' Quentin Tarantino have taken a Thai film and trimmed it from 109 minutes to about 80.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 8, 2006

A provincial Thai warrior rampages through Australia busting skulls and shouting 'You stole my elephants!' in this infectious b-movie smack down.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 8, 2006

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Sep 8, 2006

An earnest -- if bone-crunching -- ode to Thai culture.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 8, 2006

Tony Jaa may have impressed in Ong Bak, but unlike idols Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, he has yet to establish a compelling screen personality.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Sep 8, 2006

Director Prachya Pinkaew, armed with a bigger budget (than Ong Bak) and facing a whole new potential audience, recycles his old plot with strategic variations, and -- big surprise -- the movie doesn't feel nearly as fresh as its predecessor.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 8, 2006

Plenty of punches get thrown in The Protector, but most left me numb.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Sep 8, 2006

Jaa is energetic and inventive as he climbs walls and performs backflips; Pinkaew directs like a video game creator, and together the two of them couldn't care less about plot.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 8, 2006

This is one of those movies where guys literally stand in line, waiting to get beaten up.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 8, 2006