Lacking the much needed emotional and visceral punch to propel it off the screen.

Rating: Null/10 (16 May 2009)

Oppression, human injustice, cruelty, war and rebellion are themes that director Edward Zwick is now more than at home with. With Defiance which sets about to combine most elements from the director's previous works into a somewhat epic, somewhat dramatised account of a true story from the second World War, Zwick strives for greatness yet never achieves anything as such. The problem isn't that Defiance is a bad movie by any means—no, the flaw inherent to much of Defiance's downfall is simply that it neglects to evoke the emotion and attention required of the viewer. It seems throughout that the director simply assumes rather than depicts his story's self-importance. Of course by its very nature, Defiance is a hearty tale built around the overwhelming good that can come of a collective passion for facing adversity with courage and virtue—yet Zwick instead of portraying anything remotely likened to these attributes instead submits a work that feels half-baked and lacking the much needed emotional and visceral punch to propel it off the screen where it unfortunately suffers from a distinct lack of focus on its greater parts. Indeed, while Zwick may be at home with such bitter ingredients of humanity's condition, one has to wonder whether he has gotten too comfortable to be able to truly express them on-screen.
If there is one dominant highlight to Defiance however, it is not through the movie's most overt examples of struggle in the many over-the-top action sequences and gun fights, but simply though the drama that permits a grim shadow to overtake all other elements of the feature. As a result, Defiance often struggles to stay afloat in spite of its heavy-handed themes, yet when deeply involving in developing and allowing moments to envelop the viewer, the movie regains its sense of conviction even if it soon dissipates not long after. This focus on human survival and spirit often comes in the form of leader Tuvia Bielski's (Daniel Craig) legion of Jewish non-combatant refuges rescued from the oppression of Germany's invasion of Eastern Europe. While Craig himself is notably off-key here with many moments that border on jarringly appalling, the remainder of the cast more often than not manage to bring with them the sense of humanity and passion that the screenplay sadly lacks. Zwick, at times, neglects to fully capitalise on these attributes and instead shifts the direction of the movie towards more obvious forms of struggle, yet there remains a key motif present within the feature to keep it above water.
The action scenes as they stand, despite their insistence on irksomely showing up at all the wrong times, are nevertheless solid and exactly what you would come to expect from director Zwick. Echoing his previous features which range from being overtly action-based to a much more Defiance¬-like "drama with action" stories, this outing for the film-maker pulls out all the stops in crafting somewhat exciting depictions of gunfights and air raids that never take things too far into the glamorised Hollywood domain. Remaining true to the script's realistic, gritty nature based upon actual events, Defiance will more than likely please those looking for a war movie with a little depth rather than vice versa—indeed, the excitement too often overshadows any emotions evoked by other segments within the movie, but only ever distractingly so.
When the final credits roll, despite several moments of compelling character drama or action—despite the many stark and breath-taking images that Zwick inflicts upon you—despite such moments, Defiance can't quite escape the fact that it lacks any drive or momentum. The result is a feature that looks like its doing plenty, sounds like its saying a lot and moves exactly as such; but simply does not feel quite as invigorating. To say that Zwick's work here failed to compel me as much as it should have considering its premise and source material would be a grave understatement—Defiance tells an important, true-to-life account of a dark period in recent humanity's struggle to live with itself brimming with gritty realisations of these themes. Yet with a script that fails to give its performers anything of substantive quality to work with, an overlong, overbearing runtime and a barrage of undercooked characters and establishments of atmosphere or tone other than solid grey bleak abandonment; Defiance is too grim for its own good and eventually crumbles under the weight of its own ambition. For what should be an uplifting and revitalising tale steeped in pathos, Defiance is instead only sporadically engaging and lacking in the required heart or passion needed to truly convey the core of its own message.

A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)