Defiance

When I saw the trailer for Defiance, long before the movie released, I thought that it looked like a light on action, heavy on sentiment movie. I also knew that I wanted to see it. Both were results of watching a well-cut trailer that really didn't give any indication of what the movie would actually be like. So I started the film having a very different idea of what it was actually going to be like. Even with that, I still liked the movie a lot. Those who have seen Director Edward Zick's other work, The Last Samurai will know what to expect here. Specifically, a movie that tries it's damnedest to be a historical epic, with sweeping storylines that have just enough fact behind them to be believable and selfless characters that didn't quite change history, but made a difference in their own way. As much as either movie tries to be epic, they both fall just a little bit short. The Last Samurai comes across as being preachy and emotionally manipulative, and Defiance just doesn't have the kind of spark to be totally memorable. That said, I will admit that I liked both Defiance and The Last Samurai and I thought they both deserved better critical reception than they received. Defiance tells the story of the Bielske brothers who, in 1940s Poland, led a band of Polish jews in resistance to their nation's Nazi occupiers. The true story has not often been told and will most likely be unfamiliar to almost anyone watching, even though the story is inspiring and, I think, deserving of a retelling. Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber's acting performances are adequate. The only fault in this film is the script's lack of any real life. I watched the movie and yet never really sympathized with, or even really cared that much about the characters. I would call Defiance a good, but not great, war drama.

-J