2005 was a big year for martial arts star Tony Jaa, who'd just come off a major high after releasing the amazing Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior. Action movie enthusiasts were astonished at the feats Jaa was able to accomplish, which included no gimmicks, wires or CGI of any kind. He was the real deal and a Jackie Chan for a new generation.
His big follow-up film was The Protector, also known as Warrior King or Tom Yum Goong, an ambitious project that sought to one-up what he'd previously done with even more jaw-dropping stunt work. From start to finish, this brisk action classic delivers a level of excitement that only the best underground martial arts movies can hope to match, and solidifies Tony Jaa's status as one of the greats.
Flying Knee Domino Attack
The first 20 minutes of The Protector is spent setting up the overall story about lead character Kham's precious relationship with a majestic war elephant named Por Yai and his little calf, Kohrn. Both are stolen by poachers during the Songkran festival in Thailand, and Kham decides to take matters into his own hands.
His first big stunt of the film occurs when he infiltrates the house of a corrupt MP in league with animal poachers and throws one of them into a wall. As the gang prepares to fight, Kham soars across the room with a devastating flying knee attack that knocks down all of them at once.
Kham Kicks Out A Streetlight
It's no secret that Tony Jaa is one talented martial artist. His stunts are spectacular, and he's more than capable of giving iconic legend Jackie Chan a major run for his money. He proves this in the first half of the film when he confronts a knife-wielding thug who doesn't appear to be very confident.
Kham kicks the knife out of his hand, then demonstrates his superior skills by doing an incredible leaping flip kick that shatters a streetlight high above his head. It's one of the most astonishing feats in martial arts cinema history, and a trademark move of Jaa's that actually broke the world record for the highest kick.
The Backflip Handstand
It's truly amazing how talented some martial arts actors and stuntmen are, and Jaa is at the top of his game. One of the most astonishing stunts in the entire film takes place when he's being attacked by a gang of extreme sports enthusiasts who batter him with everything from fluorescent bulbs to dirt bikes.
When one of the riders attempts to run him down, Kham does a last-minute backflip onto a narrow ledge that ends with a handstand. He then shimmies his way across the small ledge before descending with a front flip off of a crate. The level of technicality and skill required to pull off such a move is hard to fathom.
The Glass Window Kickoff
In the final part of the battle against the sports gang, Kham is set upon by a thug driving a four-wheeler ATV. It's a harrowing scene that sees the rider go up on two wheels in an attempt to drive straight over his head. Narrowly avoiding the attack, Kham runs in the opposite direction while the rider initiates pursuit.
In one nail-biting slow-motion shot, Kham runs towards a glass window and does a backflip off of it, just milliseconds before the ATV rider crashes through it. If the timing of that stunt were off by even a half-second, Tony Jaa could have been seriously injured, or worse.
Kham Flash Kicks Johnny Through A Door
After fighting his way up the infamous Tom Yum Goong Otob in one dazzling, continuous single-take shot, and one of Tony Jaa's best fight scenes, Kham comes face to face with a nefarious restaurant feeding their high rolling clientele all manner of endangered and exotic animals. This enrages Kham, who engages Johnny and his men after they taunt him about the fate of his elephants.
At first, Johnny seems to have the upper hand, but Kham eventually overpowers Johnny's men, before performing a Street Fighter-style flash kick that sends Johnny face-first through the window of a pair of steel doors. It's an incredible and cool way to unlock a room.
The Tornado Kick
One of the cooler moves to come out of contemporary martial arts cinema is the famed tornado kick, made famous by the amazing Scott Adkins. In The Protector, Tony Jaa manages a tornado kick of his own, every bit as graceful and devastating as the best Adkins has to offer.
While hiding out in a Buddhist monastery, a trio of baddies attacks and lights it on fire. Kham returns and faces them down, one by one. First, he takes out a master Capoeira fighter, one of the worst martial art styles in a movie, by analyzing his rhythm and patterns to devise counter attacks. He finishes him off by performing a truly punishing tornado kick that puts him down for the count.
The Leaping Mallet Strike
The fight against the Capoeira master was hard enough, and not one of the best martial art styles in a movie, but Kham isn't through the Buddhist temple scene just yet. Next, he squares off against a wushu swordsman who proves to be quite deadly with a blade. With nothing to fall back on except his own limbs, Kham realizes he needs to improve his odds.
Kham evens the score by grabbing a pair of giant gong mallets to compete against his sword. The wushu fighter runs after Kham and attempts to stab him, but Kham responds by doing an amazing circular leap which allows him to avoid the attack and strike him dead in the chest with the heavy mallet.
Double Run Knee Attack
Kham loses the fight in the Buddhist temple against the third fighter, a hulking wrestler who proves to be too much for him. The sudden arrival of the police prevents things from going further, but Kham gets his chance at a rematch in the final act of the film when he crashes a conference.
Right off the bat, both fighters are ready for round two and they run as fast as they can towards each other. Kham makes up for his much smaller size by putting everything he's got into a soaring knee attack that impacts the wrestler square in the head, knocking him to the ground. It's a move that can't be faked with camera trickery.
The Helicopter Uppercut Kick
After her henchmen are taken down by a relentless Kham, the villainous Madame Rose makes an attempt at a daring last-minute escape onboard a helicopter on the roof of the building. Kham pursues and prevents her from climbing into the chopper, but she isn't his only target.
Her personal aid attempts to help her up into the helicopter while reaching out the door. In a mirror image of the aforementioned streetlight kick stunt, Kham replicates the move by leaping in the air and kicking him right in the face, causing him to tumble out of the chopper, and onto the roof.
The Roof Leap Attack
Madame Rose manages to get the upper hand on Kham after he takes a moment to knock out her accomplice. For a moment, it seems as if she might actually make her escape, especially when the helicopter clears the roof. However, Kham isn't finished with her just yet.
He executes a death-defying leap off the roof of the building and strikes her with a knee attack, knocking her off the helicopter ski and sending her plunging through a glass ceiling. Kham barely survives the fall, being "saved" by the skeletal remains of his beloved elephant, Por Yai. By the time the scene closes, Tony Jaa solidifies his status among the most beloved and best action movie stars.