Defendor (DVD)

Superhero films are ten a penny at the minute. Even the comedic slant seems an overdone angle in the wake of Kick-Ass and any number of genre parodies. But despite the phenomenal success of Kick-Ass, belly laughs and spandex don’t always make for good bedfellows, which makes the refreshing success of Defendor all the more surprising.

The film opens with a psychiatric evaluation between the delusional Arthur Poppington (Harrelson) and Dr. Park (Oh). Arthur, the self proclaimed ‘Defendor’, recounts his dealings with Dooney (Koates), a crooked cop with a penchant for crack, Kat (Dennings), a young drug addicted prostitute and the enigmatic ‘Captain Industry’, who Arthur proclaims to take down.

After hearing his tale, a sympathetic Dr. Park suggests Arthur be spared a prison sentence, but any hope of him returning to his vigilante ways are quashed by a court order. However it’s not long before Arthur is pulling on his comic book clobber once again to combat the city’s sinister underbelly.

To begin with, Defendor looks as though it’s going to be downright awful. The title alone will raise a few eyebrows, and fresh from his turn in Zombieland, Harrelson’s top billing seems to moor this film in comedic waters. But thankfully, Defendor quickly sets itself aside from the land of parody and surprises with a potent mix of gritty drama and dark humour. Harrelson’s central turn as the bumbling Arthur Poppington by day and the delusional Defendor by night is particularly impressive, never straying toward the extreme and shaping the central protagonist as a sympathetic sort who’s made all the more endearing by his childlike demeanour.

Kat Dennings also turns in a memorable performance as the drug addled prostitute that Arthur quickly takes under his wing. With her jaded streak playing perfectly against his purer spirit, their lengthy exchanges and odd couple arrangement stand as the film’s heart. Defendor’s dealt a fantastic baddie too in the shape of crooked cop Dooney, played with plenty of bile by the always impressive Elias Koteas.

Visually the film looks great, and rookie director Peter Stebbings deserves special mention for his impressive turn behind the camera. Forgoing the vibrant splashes of colour that usually grace the superhero film, Defendor instead seeks its inspirations from the Gotham-like grit of Batman’s recent celluloid outings, or the more grown up grime of the Punisher series. As such, Defendor not only feels more contemporary, but makes the hapless efforts of the sympathetic Arthur all the more endearing.

Overall Verdict: At first glance, Defendor might seem your run of the mill superhero spoof but beneath its silly surface layer you’ll find a surprisingly heartfelt drama that isn’t afraid of veering close to the shadier side of the spectrum.

Special Features:
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Commentary
Featurettes

Reviewer: David Steele