Film

Defendor

Name: Defendor
Genre: Drama, Action, Comedy, Crime
Released: 2009
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Elias Koteas, Kristin Booth, Clark Johnson

Vigilante

Defendor is a genuinely odd film: part superhero comedy, part gritty crime drama, wholly committed to its premise of an unhinged but kindhearted man fighting urban corruption in homemade gear. Woody Harrelson gives a performance of startling vulnerability beneath the absurdity. It's touching and violent and strange in a way that most films aren't brave enough to attempt.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a superhero story that treats its hero's delusions with tenderness, where a sincere, slightly lost man's crusade is funnier and sadder than any costume or set-piece.

Skip it if you want a slick, fast superhero film with polished action and a clear sense of who is winning; the fights are scrappy and the tone keeps drifting between comedy and something much bleaker.

What it asks of you: It runs about 100 minutes and moves at an unhurried, wandering pace, asking you to stay with a character whose mood shifts from goofy to melancholy without warning.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Tick2016

A superhero comedy that gets the tone exactly right: ridiculous on the surface, genuinely moving underneath, with Harrelson's spiritual cousin in Peter Serafinowicz playing a man-child hero who means every word.

But It's deliberately pulpy and campy; if you want polished Marvel storytelling, this will feel sloppy and weird on purpose.

Super2010

James Gunn's film about an ordinary man who becomes a violent vigilante with a pipe wrench. Dark, funny, and serious about its central moral question in ways most superhero films aren't.

But It gets genuinely brutal and disturbing; the humour sits uncomfortably close to real harm, and not everyone finds that balance rewarding.

Mystery Men1999

A ensemble superhero comedy where the heroes are genuinely incompetent but genuinely good-hearted. Balances silliness and sincerity with real style, and the cast is having enormous fun.

But It's a late-90s comedy, so the pace and jokes feel dated now; some gags land softer than they did twenty years ago.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Defendor

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Synecdoche, New York2008

Both are films about delusional men creating alternate realities to impose meaning on a chaotic world, and both treat that delusion with surprising tenderness.

Charlie Kaufman's film about a theatre director creating an increasingly elaborate replica of his life inside a warehouse. It's structurally and tonally unlike anything else; visionary, heartbreaking, and completely unique.

But It's deliberately confusing and refuses to make its logic clear; many viewers find it frustrating and self-indulgent rather than brilliant.

Unbreakable2000

M. Night Shyamalan's grounded take on a man discovering superhuman ability in real life. Quiet, patient, genuinely eerie, and takes its premise with absolute seriousness.

But It's slow and contemplative; if you want action and movement, the glacial pacing will test your patience.

Kick-Ass2010

A teenager becomes a street vigilante with no powers, and it goes wrong in messy, painful ways. Matthew Vaughn directs with energy, and the film doesn't flinch from consequences.

But It's aggressively hip and tries very hard to be cool; some of it has aged into cringiness, and the violence toward certain characters sits wrong now.

Nightcrawler2014

Jake Gyllenhaal plays a compulsive night-shift freelancer capturing crime footage in Los Angeles. It's a portrait of obsession and delusion that's gripping and uncomfortably detailed.

But It's relentlessly bleak with no heroism; if you're looking for Defendor's underlying goodness, this strips it away entirely.

Chronicle2012

Three teens gain telekinetic powers and document it on camera. It's a found-footage superhero film that's genuinely inventive and builds to something genuinely affecting and disturbing.

But The found-footage conceit means shaky camera for over an hour; some people find this technique tedious on principle.

The Guard2011

Brendan Gleeson plays an Irish policeman who seems simple but has unexpected depths, paired against a FBI agent. It's warm and funny with real weight underneath the banter.

But The Irish dialect can be thick, and the pacing is deliberately rambling; it's not a plot-driven film.

Tattooed Tears1979

Both films insist on the humanity of people the world has decided are disposable, and both find unexpected grace in damaged lives.

A documentary following inmates in San Quentin prison over several years. Raw, intimate, and devastatingly human; it shows you people society wrote off.

But It's a 45-year-old prison documentary with no narrative arc or typical storytelling; it requires patience and emotional openness.

Werckmeister Harmonies2001

Both films are about solitary, strange men trying to impose order and meaning on an indifferent world, told with visual poetry rather than plot mechanics.

Béla Tarr's Hungarian film about a whale arriving in a small town and the chaos that follows. Shot in black and white, hypnotic and strange, about loneliness and the search for meaning.

But It's 145 minutes long, shot in static long takes, with minimal dialogue; it's an endurance test that demands you surrender to its pace.