“Own It� – Tony Jaa is following in the footsteps of the greatest martial arts actors of all time. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Lee, Chow Yun-Fat, and now Tony Jaa. Look for this guy to have a string of wonderful martial...
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“Own It� – Tony Jaa is following in the footsteps of the greatest martial arts actors of all time. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Lee, Chow Yun-Fat, and now Tony Jaa. Look for this guy to have a string of wonderful martial arts movies in the future.

The Protector is a Thai film put out by the great up and coming Tony Jaa that tells the story of a young fighter and the elephant that was stolen from him. Now already this sounds ridiculous, but Jaa’s family actually raises elephants. He is forced to go to Australia where his elephant is being held in captivity by a mob organization. Now for those people who came to the movie for the wonderful plot that would rival the likes of Casa Blanca and Citizen Kane, I’m sorry you picked the wrong movie. That is the only reason why I rated this movie so low.

Beyond the story line (which come on, who actually went to this one for the story), you get a high film that depicts the brutal art of Muay Thai. Muay Thai is a form of martial arts that is very direct and to the point. You won’t see the flashy displays of Jet Lee or the fluid motion of a Thai Chi expert. Muay Thai deals with throwing mostly elbows and knees, and it is quite unsettling watching it being used on someone who is not trained to defend themselves. Jaa is an expert in the art and it is apparent the first time flies through the air knee first, which I have affectionately named the Tony Jaa Special. It is very refreshing to see someone fight on the big screen that isn’t using Kung Fu.

It is also very nice to a mix of fighting styles going against him. In one segment alone he fights a Capoera expert, a Wushu Fighter, and a massive man who is a brawler. Too many times do see to guys doing the same exact moves as each other. It was cool to see the mixing of styles. The camera work of the movie was very well done as well. There is a segment that is about seven minutes long where Jaa’s character is ascending the floors of the mob headquarters while fighting, where the camera does cut away. In this segment Jaa throws people over the railing down to the floor below, extras were running in the way of camera, and the clean up that was taking place behind his wake was done flawlessly. This scene alone makes it worth it to see this film.

There is also a scene where Jaa fights about fifty guys breaking at least two limbs of each man in the process. I would compare it to the Crazy 88 scene in Kill Bill volume 1. The scene in my opinion is the best fight scene in all of cinema.

If you’re looking for a great action movie where people will be hurt and the testosterone will be high then see this movie.