Woody Harrelson comes fresh off his career-reviving role in Zombieland with the dark comedy/super hero drama, Defendor. Defendor got its first trailer not long after Kick Ass, another satrical look at super heroes, got its first; however, Defendor was far less hyped, had a much smaller budget, and got pushed in and out of theaters far quick February of this year. Having not seen Kick Ass yet, I can't compare the two films, and despite the fact that both involve regular people portraying realistic vigilantes in a comedic light, I've been told they're both far different films.
Defendor, at its core, is an homage of sorts to two DC classics, most obviously Batman, although, also the Watchmen, notably Rorschach. Woody Harrelson's Defendor is an innocent, albeit moderately slow grown men who never had anyone to idolize in his life other than our modern legends, that of comic book super heroes. Not to give away any spoilers, but he never knew his father, his mother was taken from him at a young age, and he was raised by his stubborn, bitter old grandfather. Taking both elements of Batman and Rorschach's histories, Arthur Poppington (Harrelson's true idenity) is a combination of both those character if they were less batshit crazy, and had more childlike innocence.
Defendor is looking for his arch-enemy, Captain Industry, which is nothing more than an industry for the drug game. He goes around beating the shit out of lowly criminals, before one night saving a crackwhore (well, she is) from a corrupt cop/dopeboy. This starts off the film's main story, and also establishes our heroes' kinda love interest, in a creepy "I'm old enough to be her father, so we'll never genuinely embrace" way. Also, the crackwhore is played by the lovely Kat Dennings, of Nick and Norah fame.
oh, those ashy lips.
Regardless, Defendor finds his Captain Industry, and hunts him till the bitter end. Honestly, this film is just fucking great. Woody Harrelson's career has been rejuvenated, and thank God for that. The man is just an amazing comedic/action star, and he's just so capable of making the audience feel sympathy for his character. Between this and Tallahasse, Harrelson is back in prime-form, and needs to keep getting these great starring roles to further enforce his standing. Woody's proven himself to be Ron Perlman levels of bad-ass, and deserves that same attention and respect.
The writing/directing, handled by Peter Stebbings, a first time director, is genuinely excellent. Very atmospheric, and moody when it needs to be, while the comedic timing is still precise. The supporting cast is great at keeping the film rooted in reality, when Defendor's antics can get intentionally campy. It's hard to pick out any flaws with Defendor; it runs a perfect length, and tells a fantastic original story, something we hardly ever get in the superhero genre.
From the wildly hilarious beginning to the downer, yet mildly uplifting climax, Defendor never loses its focus. It's a great movie that takes the conventions of modern super hero films, and throws them out the window. I'd definitely recommending buying the DVD to any fan of comedy or super heroes, as this is a film you'll want to watch again and again.
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