Jenno's Random Movie Reviews

[Jenno]

So, as Dutch is no longer around to stream out a bunch of film reviews, I thought I might as well have a crack at it. Sadly though, I don't too often go to the cinema so I won't be up to date with all the new films. This will just cover a movie I watch every now and again, old, new, archaic, who knows.

Now, I won't reveal any plot points, but I may try and form a loose shape about the construction or direction of the story. But as I hate spoilers, I will avoid dropping any as best as I consciously can.

Again, like Dutch's thread, this isn't for comments. If you want to start a discussion about a movie, whether it be one mentioned in here or one not mentioned then please feel free to start a discussion thread.

However, I like words, and I think my reviews will reflect that in the paragraphs I spew about each movie.

[Jenno]

Title: Defendor

Rated: Rated R for drug use and language throughout, violence and sexual content.

Grade: A-

Review: In the past few years there have been a lot of comic book/superhero movies. More recently there have also been parodies of these movies, the prime example being Kick-Ass (and the film Super which is set to release April 1st). This has managed to elude me and probably a number of others as it wasn't widely released.

However, Defendor instantly intrigued me and I have to admit that I enjoyed the experience of watching it a great deal. At first it seems as though it will be a comic take upon a real life 'superhero' situation (where a guy basically dresses up and 'fights crime'). But whilst in the beginning there is this strong amount of comedy, as the film progresses there's also a great deal of development as we learn more about the Defendor's real identity (a role which Woody Harrelson plays beautifully by the way) and the interactions he has with a few other people. At times this can be quite a dark film, it deals with the darkness and grit within societies that most try to avoid (in the ratings that would likely come under drug use and sexual content) and so some might not like to watch this.

I was quite surprised by what this film grew into as I was watching it, but I found that as it did so, I came to enjoy with it that much more. Considering it's dealing about the idea of everyday people being superheroes, this film still stays very human and down to earth and at times the sheer simplicity of some of the things that are said or done, simply make you laugh or smile. I have to say I enjoyed it more than Kick-Ass due to Defendor's added layer of depth, and whilst Kick-Ass started out very much persistent about real life, it went on to become a little bit more extreme.

Defendor's got a great deal of depth to it, there are perhaps times when they don't wrap up things quite as nicely as shoving it in your face, but a little bit of thinking power and it's rather easy to connect things. So, I certainly recommend people go and watch this film, I know I'm going to be making sure my friends see it. If any of you enjoyed this film or didn't like it, let me know, or start a thread about it, because I'd really love to discuss it.