Movie Review - Defendor

Monday night, Liz and I rented Defendor from redbox. I wasn't really sure what to expect, based off one preview I had seen at the beginning of a different rented movie. All I could remember is that I thought it looked silly, in a fun way and I've always liked Woody Harrelson, so I suggested that we rent this one. Redbox wasn't really steaming with hot new titles, anyways.

And since Liz is such a wonderful wife, because she wasn't particularly thrilled about this title, and because she loves me so much, we got it.

I'll admit that the beginning of the movie was quirky. Strange scenes of a man dressed up like a superhero using things like marbles and angry wasps to defeat bad guys while using the cheesiest of one-liners. Now, I like quirky movies. I find a certain amount of childish enjoyment out them. Liz, not so much. But she hung in there.

As the story progressed, we learned that Arthur Poppington (Harrelson) lives his life with child-like wonder. Most likely this could be attributed to a slightly diminished mental state brought on by being abandoned by his prostitute mother at the age of four. His mixed up child hood mixed with a love of comics leads him to create his alter ego, Defendor. Not Defender. He really doesn't like when you mix that up. His destiny is to defeat Captain Industry, who he blames for all the evil in the world, and stand up to the strong to protect the weak.

That may not be enough to draw you in (I want to save most of it for you to see for yourself). Even with the $1.00 price tag. I must admit, I truly enjoyed this movie. There was action, comedy, plenty of heart felt moments, and even a few tears (shhh...don't tell anyone).

Liz and I finished the movie with the warm fuzzies. Although the beginning was slow and hard to get into, once it got going, it did a great job of keeping you in the story. Woody Harrelson is a great actor. I never once thought that he was acting like this weird man who never grew up.

This is a feel good movie and I recommend it, with a few reservations for the more sensitive movie-goers. This movie includes a fair amount of swearing, sexual situations (in the form of prostitution and one indecent act - not seen), heavy drug use, and some violence.

Overall, I give this movie an A-.

Jesse