The Protector (1997 film)

The Protector
The Protector
Directed by	Jack Gill
Written by	Jack Gill; Dee McLachlan; Andrea Buck; Stuart Beattie;
Produced by	Steven Paul
Starring	Matt McColm; Ron Perlman; Carol Alt; John Rhys-Davies; Annabel Schofield;
Cinematography	Robert Hayes
Edited by	Steve Mitchell Beebe
Music by	Mark Holden
Production; companies	Crystal Sky Worldwide; Krago's Island Inc.;
Distributed by	Concorde Pictures; A-Pix Entertainment;
Release date	December 23, 1997; (United States)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1 million

The Protector is a 1997 American action film written by Jack Gill, Dee McLachlan, Stuart Beattie, and Andrea Buck, and directed by Gill. It stars Matt McColm as Kenneth James Conway, an ex-commando and a private detective investigating the disappearance of a virologist. Supporting cast includes Ron Perlman, John Rhys-Davies, and Carol Alt.

Cast

Matt McColm as Kenneth James Conway
Ron Perlman as Dr. Ramsey Krago
Carol Alt as Agent Monica McBride
Annabel Schofield as Marisa
John Rhys-Davies as Rasheed
Morgan Brittany as Sloane Matthews
Clint Howard as Hutch
Michael Paul Chan as Dr. Anthony Mane
Rodger LaRue as Agent Leo Dumass
Jack Gill as Dr. Stanley Erhardt
Terrence Stone as Myles Vale
Henry Kingi as Van Driver
Patrick St. Esprit as Security Guard
Kane Hodder as Guard

Production

In 1996, stuntman and actor Matt McColm has been labelled by Los Angeles Times as "Hollywood's next-generation action star," following in the footsteps of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.^[1] His previous entries in the action genre included Red Scorpion 2 (1994) and Subterfuge (1996). The Protector gave McColm a chance to impress the audiences with both his perfect musculature and martial-arts skills—since he has a black belt in Kenpo Karate.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] Prior to the filming director Jack Gill worked primarily as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, and second unit director.^[5]

Release

A-Pix Entertainment released the movie in the United States on VHS in 1997.^[7] The following year the film was released in Canada by Coscient Astral Distribution, under the title Conway.^[8]

Reception

Douglas R. Pratt reviewed The Protector in his 2004 guide Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!, Volume 1, noting, "the story is an adequate backdrop for the gunfights, car crashes, and other activities this sort of movie can be depended upon to deliver."^[9] In a journal for Dammaged Goods—a cinema-related website—The Protector was called a "quasi exploitative action film" that "makes good use of its resources, has some fun in the process and doesn't try to be something it's not."^[5] Furthermore, the central performance is praised: "Stunt performer turned leading man Matt McColm plays Conway with rogue charm while flexing his muscles and martial-arts prowess. Ruggedly handsome, McColm doesn't take things too seriously and is a likeable enough hero."^[5] Yippee-ki-yay! editor Albert Nowicki complimented McColm in his leading role, calling his character a "convincing cinematic tough guy", with a "stunning musculature" and good magnetism. He went on to berate other cast members, though, and called Carol Alt an "expressionless beauty".^[10]

Cinema.de provided a negative note, giving it one star out of five.^[11] Movies Room described the movie, along with Subterfuge, as "tacky and second-class" but also "enjoyable".^[12]