Defendor [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

*Minor Spoilers* On paper- there isn't a lot of originality here. The 'emotionally/mentally disturbed individual who gets in way over his head' archetype was previously done in the excellent Special [2006] [DVD], although the level of brutality reaped on Defendor/Arthur Poppington is more akin to what happens to Dave Lizewski in Kick-Ass [DVD] [2010]. The 'Hooker with a Heart of Gold' supporting character 'Cat' is so cliched that it's almost a moot point to mention it. Whilst there are a few twists in turns in the script, and a wonderful ending that a mainstream Hollywood movie wouldn't accept, if I had been a producer or an investor, I might have considered this too derivative of previous movies to bother with funding.

Which probably explains why I'm writing reviews on Amazon, and don't work in the film industry, as the people behind this movie did a great job. Woody Harrelson is excellent as Arthur Poppington, and turns in a subtle yet earnest performance. (Indeed, it would be hard to single out one actor for special praise, as they are all uniformly excellent, including the child actors.) The pacing of the film is great, the editing (with old School Star Wars-style wipes) thoughtful, and the DOP does an astonishing job with the lighting and the fiming, to the point where this movie 'feels' substantially more expensive than it actually was.

There are only a couple of points that belie a tight budget- the score is good, but clearly done on a synthesier/with a band, as opposed to an orchestra, and the director Peter Stebbings shoots the whole movie in about four locations, doing his best to dress it up to look different (and the fake snow looks like polystyrene chips). Finally, the cover of the DVD is so bad that it almost put me off buying it- I wouldn't be surprised if people thought this was a DTV cash-in made on the heels of Kick Ass, instead of the low-budget labour of love that it clearly is.

Whilst there are a load of movies in the 'kidding-themselves-on superhero sub-genre'(as well as the aforementioned Special and Kick Ass, there's also been the enjoyable The Specials [DVD] [2000], Mystery Men [DVD] and James Gunn's forthcoming Super) this is still an enjoyable (and emotional) movie that really cuts to the heart of what superheroes inspire in people. More so than Kick Ass, it also makes me never want to put on a costume and try being a superhero- and one hopes that anyone tempted by the prospect of being a 'real life' superhero will pause for thought after seeing this...

This 2009 Canadian superhero comedy film stars Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, and Elias Koteas.

The best comparison is of a combo of 'Kickass' and 'Taxi Driver', bizzare as that sounds...promise!!

The story tells of a mentally-ill man who adopts the persona of a superhero named 'Defendor' on a quest to find his arch enemy, Captain Industry.

The film begins with a psychiatrist interviewing Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) in a psychiatric evaluation. At first he is confused to the point that he thinks he's being quizzed, but he slowly opens up, recalling an incident in which he assaulted Mr. Debrofkowitz, the owner of a dry-cleaning service.

He starts his story one night where he is investigating shipment docks, and assaults a police officer who claims to be working undercover. Dooney (Elias Koteas) is a corrupt detective whose crack smoking, and having a prostitute in his company, leads Defendor to believe that he is under the employ of his arch nemesis, named Captain Industry.

Arthur lives alone in the government construction department that he works at during the day. His life is very solitary, but after another confrontation with Dooney, he meets Angel (Kat Dennings), the prostitute who was smoking crack with Dooney. He is brutally beaten by Dooney's friends and she helps him recover. He learns that she is aware of Captain Industry's whereabouts and he allows her to live with him. For $40 a day, he enlists her help in apprehending Industry.

Their rather dysfunctional relationship forms this highly off-beat story. In this current day of Dark Knights, Green Hornet, Iron Men and vampires, this film I found to be amusing and refreshing - recommended.

You'll struggle not to make comparison with Kick-Ass before you watch this. At first I was expecting it to be a complete rip-off. Yet here we have a touching movie, with just as many tender moments as it has funny ones. The movie revolves around Arthur Poppington, a terribly dressed superhero wannabe with a desire to catch a super criminal. Arthur is forever taking beatings and failing in his quest to find and catch Captain Industry. This is why the movie works. Due to the truth of it all, we relate to Arthur and, whilst we wish him to succeed, we also concede he is probably doomed to failure.

There's not much to say without giving the plot away, but this is a nicely done movie which may unfortunately struggle to live in a world with Kick-Ass. I think watching it with an open mind and without comparison will help viewers realise that this is a good film with different objectives to its more famous cousin.

Woody is excellent in this movie, and I doubt there are many who will come away without warming to his role as Defendor.