(First off, sorry for the premature posting earlier)
Recently, I've been working on a list of recommended martial arts films for the updated Fight Jam website. It gave me a chance to revisit some of my favorites. Casting a nostalgic eye, I stumbled back upon the largely forgotten film "The Protector."
"The Protector" (Not to be confused with Tony Jaa's 2005 kickboxing film "Tom Yum Goong" which was also called "The Protector" in the U.S.) was made in 1985 and is an earlier attempt by Jackie Chan to break into Hollywood. He was already a big star in Asia thanks to his kung-fu comedy films (Especially "Drunken Master" (1978) and "Project A" (1983)). And he had already made a few U.S. films, though with little success. "The Big Brawl" (1980) was a pale imitation of his Hong Kong films, directed by Robert Clouse (who had directed Bruce Lee's classic "Enter the Dragon" (1973). Chan's appearances in "The Cannonball Run" (1981) and "Cannonball Run II" (1984), car-chase comedy films directed by American stunt superstar Hal Needham and starring Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise didn't use him too well, and did little to further his reputation.
But Chan was persistent, and like a lot of people in the movie industry around the world, still held onto the dream of Hollywood. Thus, he gave things another shot with "The Protector." The movie was directed by James Glickenhaus (Known best for the nauseating crazed Vietnam Vet revenge thriller "The Exterminator" (1980)) and cast Chan as Billy Wong, a Hong Kong expat living in New York and working as a police detective.
The film is a pretty run-of-the-mill 80s buddy cop film, with Danny Aiello (who would later become famous in movies like "Moonstruck" (1987) and "Do The Right Thing" (1989)) playing Chan's partner. But the main problem is the film's tone. Chan had distinguished himself from other Hong Kong martial arts stars trying to claim the late Bruce Lee's mantle by making himself into kung-fu's clown prince. Whereas everyone else was trying to be a badass, Chan's characters were hapless, often naive, frequently finding themselves in fights that they wanted no part of. Despite the dexterity of his skills and stunts, Chan always made it look like he was as surprised that he survived a fight as the audience. He also incorporated slapstick borrowed from silent film stars like Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, and would often make unorthodox use of everyday objects as weapons. Check out this clip from his Hong Kong hit "Project A" (1983) as an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fl43rq3Zqw.
For some reason, director Glickenhaus and the studio felt that Chan would do well if he played his part straight and dead serious, like an Asian Dirty Harry. The result is an uncharacteristically grim performance from Chan, shorn of any of the joking or silliness that his fans enjoyed.
This idea carried over into the fight choreography. Chan wasn't allowed to stage his own fights and stunts, as he did in Hong Kong. The results are not bad, strictly speaking, but they have none of Chan's typical spark or imagination.
However, Chan had the last laugh. "The Protector" was partially filmed in New York, but all the interiors were filmed at soundstages in Hong Kong. After the U.S. producers finished, Chan went back to the sets with the cast, re-filmed the fight scenes with his own choreography, and even added a subplot to give the film a more comedic tone. We in the U.S. were unfortunately saddled with the original version, while Asian audiences got more of the authentic Jackie.
Take a look below. The following clips are taken from a climactic fight scene between Chan and American karate star Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. The first is the U.S. version.
The Protector, US version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVqBWwDIkvE&feature=related
Now here's the Hong Kong version of the same scene.
The Protector, HK version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltv79FFR4Ro
The two make for a very interesting contrast between Asian and U.S. approaches to hand-to-hand combat in film (at the time). The pacing and editing of the HK version is considerably faster. The individual moves of each of the combatants also involve a greater combination of moves and techniques.
"The Protector" didn't do too well in the U.S., so Chan headed back to Asia and kept doing what he did best. America finally caught up with him in 1996 when "Rumble in the Bronx" was a surprise hit, followed by the wave of U.S. films that fully embraced Hong Kong-style choreography ("The Matrix," "Charlie's Angels," "Kill Bill: Vol. 1").
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