The Protector

The Protector follows Kham, a young man raised in rural Thailand alongside the elephants his family cares for. When dealers steal the animals and smuggle them to Sydney, Kham travels abroad for the first time to bring them home. A Thai-born Australian detective assists him as he takes on the trafficking network behind the theft, which is run by a woman named Madame Rose and guarded by two formidable enforcers.

The film is directed by Prachya Pinkaew, who also shares screenplay and producing credits, and it followed his 2003 feature Ong-Bak. Tony Jaa plays Kham, with Petchtai Wongkamlao, Bongkoj Khongmalai, Jin Xing, Nathan Jones and Johnny Nguyen among a credited cast of 105. Made for about 6 million dollars, it returned roughly 27 million worldwide, a strong result for a Thai martial arts production. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from around 40,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 out of 10 from a much smaller base of under a thousand. A critics' rating of 5.6 out of 10 from 89 reviews places it below the audience scores, though viewers rate it consistently well. It runs 105 minutes.