The Protector

A great movie brought to us by Boon Collins and Jeff Frey.

Quite possibly the best modern action movie since the classic "Dirty Harry", "THE PROTECTOR" simply rocks. "THE PROTECTOR" made headlines for its combination of a wonderful cast, excellent script, amazing action sequences and superb direction. Headed up by screen favorite Frank Zagarino(Barbarian Queen ), "The Protector" also features the talented Matthias Hues(Cyber Vengeance) and Steven Nijjar(Needful The Final Goal). Directed by action veteran directors Boon Collins, the mastermind behind such action spectaculars as "Abducted II: The Reunion", "Night Warning", "Escape to Grizzly Mountain", and "Escape to Grizzly Mountain".

In the role that shot him to stardom, Zagarino plays Cole, a super special agent with a dark past. He has to protect a man with no memory (Steven Nijjar), who has lost his children and wife. This great plot brings us the best of the best of action classic movies. Gunther(Matthias Hues) is the evil guy, who knows everything about about the two good guys. With great flashbacks we'll get immersed in this excellent movie. Non-stop action scenes to delight the audience. Great scenarios, and you'll get to see high quality traps, shooting scenes that makes Die Hard looks like a Steve Martin comedy, great performance by the actors, especially Zagarino, a very underrated actor who should be getting a major role in any high budget Hollywood movie and especially girls, lots of very pretty girls to make the male audience happy. About the plot, we'll get to see the darkest side of good men and the way the good guys solve their problems to lead them to the final victory.

"THE PROTECTOR" succeeds is because it presents every challenge Cole has to face realistically and clearly. As the tension mounts, the ordeals for Cole become increasingly harder. First, it's just a grunt. Then a whole slew of them. Later, it's the protection and even the fight with his protected! Director Boon Collins gives the film a good pace and makes the film work by showing that Cole isn't superhuman; he only uses his brain more than his punches. Also, screenwriter Jeb Robert Cousins adds touches of humor that lighten up the viewer and classic one-liners ("Cole, John Cole") that ignite the screen. Their subplots actually add to the story instead of overcomplicating it, especially one featuring the undercover cop (Meeka Schiro)

Overall, this movie was awesome. Zagarino is very believable and has significant screen presence. Character development is superb. And after all this, the soundtrack is just great, at the same level than John Williams classics. Paul Nelson can be proud.

Note to Parents: the nudity, drug use, continual profanity, and extreme violence would make this a bad choice for kids under 13. Otherwise, see "THE PROTECTOR" ASAP! Overall Rating: *** Worth 10 out of 10 dollars ***

This movie apparently had a budget equal to its creators' lunch money, and, by all gods, does it show! Constantly repeated sets, repeated footage here and there, almost no camera motion, static lighting, cliché dialogues, very bad fighting scenes... I have no idea how this ever made its way out of a studio. It's worse than shorts shot by film school dropouts.

Avoid at all possible cost, as this thing has no real redeeming qualities of any kind. Rent only for two hours of cringing at pretty much every scene, or to play a practical joke on a friend too trusting in your choice of movies to have them waste two hours of their lives.

Seeing as there are only two reviews at this point, I thought I would throw in a little balance. It is nowhere near a 10 and, "best modern action movie since the classic 'Dirty Harry'," makes me wonder if the director didn't review his own movie. The other reviewer was right, too, as this is really low budget. However, I watched this with some friends and we laughed constantly throughout the movie. A lot of action, some T&A, and some laughs brought on by string of really bad one liners...must make it worth a little.

Also funny is how dated the movie is, as a CD-ROM was cutting-edge, high tech at the time. It was really funny to see someone go on about an optical disk that could hold 750 MB.

Bottom line, don't expect much from this and you won't be disappointed. However, watch it with a group of people who like to cut up a little, and it is possible to get some enjoyment out of this film. Honestly, I have seen much worse (Little Man, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, In & Out, Anything after the original Howling, etc., etc.).