Defendor (2010)

A crooked cop, a mob boss and the young girl they abuse are the denizens of a city's criminal underworld. It's a world Arthur Poppington doesn't understand........... or belong in, but is committed to fighting when he changes into a vigilante super-hero of his own making.Calling himself Defendor, and with no power other than courage, he takes to the streets to protect the city's innocents......Even though it was made before, this film is overshadowed by two other films in this little sub-genre, Kick-Ass and Super, and to be fair, they are far superior to this.Kick-Ass was better written and directed, and the much needed humour was excellent. Super was just a bludgeoning short of Grindhouse, and its in your face violence and performances made it stand out.Here we have Harrelson, as good as ever, but the script is poor, and it's playing the mental health card way too many times, just to play it safe, and in the end, it's treating the audience like morons.But Woody is as reliable as ever and makes the film just worth watching. But you'll have a sense of déjà Vu if you see it.

Woody Harrelson is one of those actors whose movies I never initially set out to watch, not in the same way I would for Robert De Niro or someone. However just recently it's occurred to me that most of the films that I've seen of his I've enjoyed.So when I saw he was in Defendor I thought why not give it a go? I was expecting a kind of Kickass style superhero flick about a bumbling idiot who ends up a hero. And in many ways, at least on the surface, you could say that that would be a decent one line summary of the film. However there's far much more to it than you'd expect.Harrelson plays Arthur Poppington, a somewhat homeless man who appears to be suffering from a few learning difficulties. He is helped a lot by his friend, Carter, who has given him a job and some kind of construction site. However after being majorly influenced by comic books Poppington sets out to take to the streets and take revenge on some of the drug lords in the city.He lacks any sort of super powers, but what he lacks in power he makes up for in sheer determination and as much as Poppington is slightly frustrating to watching he is also a character that you can't help but root for, with Harrelson playing him to perfection. One of his exploits he comes across a drug-addicted, teenage prostitute (Kat Dennings) who he sort of takes under his wing - although at times she appears to be irritatingly ungrateful and at the same time Poppington manages to annoy a local corrupt cop (who looks an awful lot like a bald Robert De Niro) as he sets himself up to take on a man who he believes to be his arch-rival, Captain Industry.Does Defendor a.k.a Poppington manage to thwart the villains? Does the city embrace him as a hero? Does Kat Dennings ever thank him? I couldn't spoil it for you. However all I'll say is this really is a touching character study at times and is perhaps as close to life as a vigilante "superhero" type might ever actually be. If only this film was marketed better at the time I think it would have found a good fan-base, however it isn't really a popcorn film and by not being so genre conforming it does lose some of its possible audience.

This movie is to Super what Super is to Kick-Ass.By that I mean it's totally different in almost every possible way, they just happen to share the concept of "normal guy tries being a super-hero." All three are VERY different movies.You can call this movie a "dark comedy," but I would also classify it as a straight "superhero movie." Just in this case, the superhero is mentally handicapped. Does that automatically make it a comedy? Not necessarily. About the end of Act I, I realized the movie works best if you just take it as face value- giving you laughs where they're inevitable, but also taking itself seriously enough to have a real emotional reaction. I can't really place a genre for this film.Positives: the movie is pretty original for a genre that's been done to death lately. The story itself is actually interesting, and though it's a completely unbelievable series of events, somehow they are portrayed in a realistic manner. To the point where you laugh at the absurdity, then realize "that might just work." Some of the performances are good- everyone skates a thin line in this movie- as if it's all how adults seem to a 10-year old. I think the term is "kid gloves." And though it's not a demanding genre, the cinematography was good too- not "in your face" gritty, but unglamorous enough to feel real.Negatives: The movie's tone is very hard to pin down for the first 35 minutes or so. Basically it's uncomfortable at first- you don't want to laugh at Harrelson because he's mentally handicapped (because that part of the movie is done straight, humorlessly). Unlike Super, which paints the protagonist as someone who's right all along (and should know better), Defendor doesn't know better, and we're not sure if he's on the right side or not for most of Act I. Think of Mel Gibson in Conspiracy Theory.The characters also make a few glaring "common sense" errors that really bugged me. Like, significant "a real person wouldn't do that" ones, where if they didn't happen the movie could have ended right there.Lastly, it doesn't help that the movie is misadvertized as a quasi-spoof of super-hero movies, or at least as a flat-out comedy. Once I let that go (again, end of Act I), it really pulled me in, but until then I was just irritated with it, simply because it wasn't matching my expectations.So if you think the movie looks interesting (or funny, even), definitely give it a shot. It's a charming story, but it's got some rough edges, and it's not for everyone.

Defendor was a very good movie. I believe that certain people will love it. But more importantly, I can't imagine anyone who watches this movie all the way through hating it. This movie does a fantastic job of combining themes and emotions. It gives you comedy, drama, romance, action, you name it. Why it's unique is because it does all of this seamlessly without feeling forced.This movie does so many things well. In a world where high budget superhero movies based on deep dynasties are a dime a dozen, this one bests them all. It doesn't need superpowers to amaze. In fact, the reality of the situations are what make it so likable. Like a well oiled machine, it is able to switch gears effectively, bring you from laughs to tears to awe. Also, Woody Harrelson does an INCREDIBLE job of acting.The only negative that I can give to this movie is that it spends so much time varying it's purpose and theme that it's hard to love. It will appeal to almost everyone, but no one positive attribute of the movie has enough sustenance to be memorable.The bottom line on this one is that everyone should see this movie. This movie should be a prerequisite to owning a TV. However, very few people will likely re watch it and fall in love.