The Protector is a 1985 action film directed by James Glickenhaus and starring Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello, and Roy Chiao. An American-Hong Kong co-production, it was Chan's second attempt at breaking into the American film market, after 1980 film The Big Brawl, which had moderate box office success but was considered a disappointment. 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. The original Glickenhaus cut only received a sparse release in North America, while Chan's edited version was a moderate success in Asia.

Plot

During a bar robbery gone awry, NYPD officer Billy Wong kills the perpetrators but loses his partner Michael, drawing the ire of his superiors. Later, in the middle of a fashion show, masked gangsters storm in and kidnap Laura Shapiro, the daughter of known gangster Martin Shapiro. Crime boss Harold Ko and Martin Shapiro are suspected of smuggling drugs from Hong Kong to New York. A surveillance of Shapiro's bodyguard Benny Garucci indicates that Ko may have taken her to Hong Kong for ransom. Wong and his new partner Danny Garoni travel to the colony, where they encounter local contacts Stan Jones, Hing Lee, and Hing's daughter Siu Ling.