Review of Defendor (2009) by Luke B — 01 Apr 2011
Mixing a current love for super-hero movies, with a drama about mental health is a hard sell. Probably why this film has been skirting under the radar for sometime. People always talk about Batman being mentally ill.
Well, Harrelson's character truly is. He is misguided into a world of crime fighting, searching for his mother's killer. He gets way in over his head, and his antics have serious consequences.
He jeopardizes police investigations, and really gets hurt. At the same time, his actions are celebrated by the media and the public. The film looks at these points from a distance. Are Harrelson's methods justified? Is he just a gimmick? Is there a better way to fight crime? Whilst, all the time, reminding us that Harrelson is not well.
He is dangerous, even if his heart is in the right place. Perhaps a bit too much darkness to truly take off, it has some great performances, and the action scenes always let you feel that something bad could happen to the hero.
Not something you can say about many superhero films.
This review of Defendor (2009) was written by Luke B on 01 Apr 2011.
Defendor has generally received positive reviews.
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