The Protector (1985 film)

The Protector
Film poster of the US version
Directed by	James Glickenhaus
Produced by	David Chan Shek Hong-chan Raymond Chow Leonard Ho
Written by	James Glickenhaus Edward Tang
Starring	Jackie Chan Danny Aiello Roy Chiao Moon Lee Peter Yang
Music by	Ken Thorne
Cinematography	Chang Yao-chu Mark Irwin Johnny Koo Jimmy Leung Ardy Lam Gary Hoh
Edited by	Yao Chung-chang Evan A. Lottman Barbara Minor Peter Cheung
Distributed by	Golden Harvest (Hong Kong) Warner Bros. (USA)
Release date	July 11, 1985 (1985-07-11) (Hong Kong) August 23, 1985 (1985-08-23) (U.S.)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	Hong Kong United States
Language	Cantonese English
Box office	Hong Kong: HK$13,917,612 United States: US$981,817

The Protector (Chinese: 威龍猛探) is a 1985 Hong Kong-American action film directed by James Glickenhaus and starring Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello and Roy Chiao. It was Chan's second attempt at breaking into the American film market, after 1980 film The Big Brawl, a film which had been a disappointment at the box office. Conflicts between Glickenhaus and Chan during production led to two official versions of the film: Glickenhaus' original version for American audiences and a Hong Kong version re-edited by Jackie Chan. Chan later directed Police Story as a response to this film.

A gang is attempting to steal computers from an 18 wheeler. One of the gang members remotely hacks a set of traffic lights, turning them to red, while other members of the gang rig chains to the back of the truck. They turn the light green again, and as the truck pulls away, the chains tear the door open. When the trucker goes to the rear of his truck to investigate, he is knocked unconscious by a gang member, who then whistles for his cohorts to steal the load. Meanwhile, New York police officers Billy Wong (Jackie Chan) and Michael Alexander (Patrick James Clarke) are patrolling the neighborhood. On the radio, a dispatcher says that a truck was stripped by their premises, so the cops check it out. As the trucker comes to, he sees that his cargo has been stolen. Michael radios in the crime, while Billy passes the driver his hat, saying, "Welcome to New York".

Later, the two cops are in a bar. Billy Wong goes to the bathroom while Michael Alexander orders another round. Outside, a gang plan to rob the bar, unaware of the cops inside. They charge in busting the door and start roughing up the customers and gathering them by the till. Billy, still in the bathroom, has heard the commotion. The gang forces the customers to stand by the register, while one member tries to open the locked bathroom. Gun drawn, he breaks down the door, but Billy has overhead everything and shoots the gangster four times before he can make the shot.