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Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance, Defendor might look like a slapstick comedy or a low-budget superhero movie, but its DNA lies more with Taxi Driver (though it's considerably gentler in tone than Martin Scorsese's classic). Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson, Zombieland) just wants to make the world a better place; unfortunately, he's a bit dim and has delusions of grandeur that lead him to skulk around the urban jungle in a black turtleneck with a duct-taped D on his chest. His floundering but relentless efforts to bring down a drug-dealing pimp and a crooked undercover cop (Elias Koteas, The Adjuster) earn him the respect of a teen prostitute (Kat Dennings, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist) and the psychiatrist (Sandra Oh, Sideways) assigned by the court to do a psychiatric evaluation--but that may not be enough to keep him alive when confronted with real danger. The key to Defendor is that, though the plot may be implausible, it's grounded in realistic and well-drawn characters. The excellent cast (also featuring Michael Kelly, whose face will be familiar from many a supporting role) plays everything vividly real, which keeps Arthur's struggle compelling. Defendor is a surprisingly sincere and complex movie, worth watching whether you're a fan of superheroes or not. --Bret Fetzer
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
4.5 out of 5
Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) has a secret: when night rises upon the city, he takes to the streets as Defendor, a lone avenger on the hunt for the ever-elusive Captain Industry. Unfortunately for Arthur, he's mildly retarded and the line between right and wrong sometimes blurs. Though he means well, sometimes he gets in over his head, especially when his search for Captain Industry takes him into the city's underworld of drugs, guns and prostitution.
After saving the life of prostitute and drug-addict Kat Debrofkowitz (Kat Dennings), Arthur takes her in and, though at first exploited by her for money, the two eventually bond and he accomplishes one of his objectives he had ever since donning the Defendor uniform: helping those who need it most.
Being a lifelong superhero fan, there are a few things, to me, that define a good superhero movie and Defendor had more than one of those things. It touched me on that very human level of seeing a sincere human being trying to make a difference regardless of what other people think of him. Fear of man is one of the things I think holds people back from doing the right thing in real life. To at least see that attribute on the screen means a lot to me because it proves that people are still thinking about it even if it's just in a movie.
The trailer for this flick makes it come across as more like a superhero spoof than a serious movie, and this was most definitely a serious movie. Sure, there were some funny moments, but this movie wasn't about that, but instead was about a man who saw something wrong and did the best he could with what he knew how to do.
And he did. He showed us who Captain Industry really was: the villain that all of us have in each of out cities, the one comprised of drugs, guns and illegal sex that has ruined countless lives yet for some reason authorities refuse to do something about it.
This movie makes me think of the real life superheroes that are out there (Google "Real Life Superheroes"), those real men and women who don guises of other personas and do what they can to help us. Lots of people mock them. Lots of people mocked Defendor, but when all is said and done, they, like Defendor, do the right thing and try to right a world full of wrongs, bring hope to those who need it, and set an example that we should all follow.
Defendor is a fantastic movie and I'm really glad Peter Stebbings went ahead and made this flick.
Fight back.
Recommended.
A.P. Fuchs
Canister X
Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) has a secret: when night rises upon the city, he takes to the streets as Defendor, a lone avenger on the hunt for the ever-elusive Captain Industry. Unfortunately for Arthur, he's mildly retarded and the line between right and wrong sometimes blurs. Though he means well, sometimes he gets in over his head, especially when his search for Captain Industry takes him into the city's underworld of drugs, guns and prostitution.
After saving the life of prostitute and drug-addict Kat Debrofkowitz (Kat Dennings), Arthur takes her in and, though at first exploited by her for money, the two eventually bond and he accomplishes one of his objectives he had ever since donning the Defendor uniform: helping those who need it most.
Being a lifelong superhero fan, there are a few things, to me, that define a good superhero movie and Defendor had more than one of those things. It touched me on that very human level of seeing a sincere human being trying to make a difference regardless of what other people think of him. Fear of man is one of the things I think holds people back from doing the right thing in real life. To at least see that attribute on the screen means a lot to me because it proves that people are still thinking about it even if it's just in a movie.
The trailer for this flick makes it come across as more like a superhero spoof than a serious movie, and this was most definitely a serious movie. Sure, there were some funny moments, but this movie wasn't about that, but instead was about a man who saw something wrong and did the best he could with what he knew how to do.
And he did. He showed us who Captain Industry really was: the villain that all of us have in each of out cities, the one comprised of drugs, guns and illegal sex that has ruined countless lives yet for some reason authorities refuse to do something about it.
This movie makes me think of the real life superheroes that are out there (Google "Real Life Superheroes"), those real men and women who don guises of other personas and do what they can to help us. Lots of people mock them. Lots of people mocked Defendor, but when all is said and done, they, like Defendor, do the right thing and try to right a world full of wrongs, bring hope to those who need it, and set an example that we should all follow.
Defendor is a fantastic movie and I'm really glad Peter Stebbings went ahead and made this flick.
Fight back.
Recommended.
A.P. Fuchs
Canister X
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
*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...
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...
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
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.
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
"..VERY ENTERTAINING.."
Woody Harrelson has made a come back lately with so many funny roles and cameos like in 2012 and especially the awesome Zombieland! Read more
Published 25 days ago by S. Drury
Sweet, funny, cute
And that's just Woody Harrelson! :p
A lovely little film, well worth watching - don't expect super-hero biff pow bang. Read more
A lovely little film, well worth watching - don't expect super-hero biff pow bang. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jinjapewbs
Defendo or Defendon't
I'd never heard about this film until I'd watched Seth Rogen's `Observe and Report' - a film which has the line, "I thought this was going to be funny, but actually it's kinda... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Albatross
Excellent film.....
Looking at the other reviews,I think prospective buyers may be a little confused as to what category this film actually falls into. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jack Redburn.
Woody Harrelson's best role in ages
Defendor (he gets a bit touchy if it's spelt with an '-er') is the story of Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson - Bunraku) - a guy who is definitely a few cards short of a full... Read more
Published 7 months ago by J. Morris
Average - weakest of recent vigilante comedies
Amusing in parts, but a little thin on plot and action in a genre that has been well worked in recent years by the likes of Kickass and Super - both of which are superior films.
Published 7 months ago by Alistair
shocked just how good it was
I bought this on a whim and was supprised to find it became one of my favourite movies of the year, it wasn't just good it was touching and really caught me by suprise. Read more
Published 9 months ago by D. A. Williamson
Movie pleasure
Great story, really moved me and got me thinking and had to watch it a couple of times straight off, friends loved it too. It's a must see.
Published 12 months ago by Mr. J. J. King
Defendor!
Defendor is a comedy/drama about Arthur Poppington (Woody) who lives a fantasy life as a Superhero after his mother vanished when he was little and was subsequently brought up by... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Je Salter
Best viewed without comparison to Kick-Ass
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. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Twiss
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