The Protector

Muay-Thai martial arts phenomenon Tony Jaa follows up his impressive debut in "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" with an action-packed, if less than sophisticated, story line. Jaa plays Kham, a Muay-Thai fighter whose quiet life in the forests of Thailand is torn apart by an Asian gang that steals his family's two pet elephants. Kham travels to Australia to recover the pachyderms and has to fight an army of men to find them. Although the plot is elementary at best, the fight sequences are beautifully choreographed and Tony Jaa's onscreen charisma and physical talents are astonishing to behold. In the realm of fresh martial arts movie stars, no one holds a candle to Tony Jaa.

Rated R. 110 mins. (B-) (Three Stars)