Simply put, this is the kind of action flick that you'd never see at a theater today, one more concerned with the filmmaker's interests than pleasing a test screening audience and also a film that pulls off some impressive spectacle through analog means. If you're a fan of Glickenhaus' other films, it's a must-watch - and don't be surprised if its 'end of an era' quality makes you feel wistful.

Glickenhaus gives the mayhem a glossy look, limits the running time to a tight 80 minutes and sets it to a hypnotic synth score by Tangerine Dream. The end result is mainly for action fans and exploitation junkies need apply but if you fit either group, you'll get your money's worth in sleek carnage. To paraphrase SCTV's Farm Film Report: The Soldier blows up real good.

The Protector is an oddity in the Jackie Chan filmography but it fits just fine into the James Glickenhaus filmography. With its seedy story aspects and lack of comedy touches, it's inevitable that the diehard Chan fans wouldn't like it - but it wasn't really made for them. The martial arts film fan's loss is the exploitation flick fan's gain.

On the surface, it's a revenge movie with distinct echoes of Death Wish. However, there's a lot more going on under the surface than the film often gets credit for - and if viewed from the right perspective, interesting similarities to Taxi Driver come into view.