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Jackie Chan in America: when Hong Kong chaos meets 80s NYC grime and nobody asked for this.
TMDB
60
Rotten Tomatoes
44
Audience Score
44
Watch(US)

The Protector (1985)

culture clash chaosgritty neonbuddy cop absurdity

Overview

ActionCrime

Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.

Flag of HKHK
Content warning

Standout Aspects

Stunts

Jackie's warehouse fight has moves he invented on the spot.

Direction

Glickenhaus wanted Dirty Harry; Jackie wanted poetry. Beautiful disaster.

Best for:Friends: Drinking game: shot every time Jackie does something the stunt team winced at.·Rewatch: Spot which scenes Jackie secretly reshot in Hong Kong without telling the director.·Background: Perfect for folding laundry while explosions happen.
Heads up:Violence: 1985 action brutality—gunfights are messy, not heroic.
James Glickenhaus

Director

James Glickenhaus

ReleasedJun 15, 1985
Runtime1h 34m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacefast
Intensityhigh
Tonedark
Feelmedium
Budget$5M·Revenue$11M
Orange Sky Golden Harvest
Golden Way Films Ltd.

Top Cast

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan

Billy Wong

Danny Aiello

Danny Aiello

Danny Garoni

Roy Chiao

Roy Chiao

Mr. Ko

Victor Arnold

Victor Arnold

Police Captain

Kim Bass

Kim Bass

Stan Jones

Al Cerullo

Al Cerullo

Helicopter Pilot

Mark Cheung Lui

Mark Cheung Lui

Dance Coach

Richard Clarke

Richard Clarke

Superintendant Whitehead

Patrick James Clarke

Patrick James Clarke

Michael Alexander

Ask about The Protector

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Jackie hated the finished film so much he bought the Hong Kong distribution rights and recut it himself, adding new fight scenes and removing gratuitous nudity. The Asian version runs 91 minutes versus the American 94.

Cultural

This disaster actually saved Jackie's career—The Protector's failure convinced him to never let Americans direct his fights again, leading to Police Story. Sometimes you need one bad cop movie to birth a legend.

YouTube

Jackie Chan: The Protector (1985) Official Trailer

Jackie Chan: The Protector (1985) Official Trailer

Gallery

Reviews

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Discussion

Reactions from the web

The last Jackie Chan movie to be part of the Grindhouse era

@MrAntiSellOut 24

Ahh the 80's. A very explosive decade that's for sure. lol

@cheryldahl9192 29

Excellent trailer !

@mcfrdmn 9

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