Defendor (2009)

Arthur Poppington, a regular man who adopts a superhero persona, known as 'Defendor', combs the city streets at night, in search of his arch-enemy, Captain Industry.

Director:

Peter Stebbings

Writer:

Peter Stebbings

Stars:

Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Harrelson	...	Arthur Poppington / Defendor
Elias Koteas	...	Sgt. Chuck Dooney
Michael Kelly	...	Paul Carter
Sandra Oh	...	Dr. Ellen Park
Kat Dennings	...	Katerina Debrofkowitz
Clark Johnson	...	Capt. Roger Fairbanks
Lisa Ray	...	Dominique Ball
A.C. Peterson	...	Radovan Kristic
Kristin Booth	...	Wendy Carter (as Kristen Booth)
Charlotte Sullivan	...	Fay
Tony Nappo	...	Biker Cliff
Ron White	...	Judge Wilson
David Gardner	...	Grandpa Henry
Bryan Renfro	...	Mr. Debrofkowitz
Max Dreesen	...	Young Arthur

Storyline

A crooked cop, a mob boss and the young girl they abuse are the denizens of a city's criminal underworld. It's a world that ordinary Arthur Poppington doesn't understand and doesn't belong in, but is committed to fighting when he changes into a vigilante super-hero of his own making, Defendor. With no power other than courage Defendor takes to the streets to protect the city's innocents.

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Plot Keywords:

vigilante | superhero | gun running | organized crime | pimp | 

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Taglines:

An unexpected hero will rise.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for drug use and language throughout, violence and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada USA UK

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

13 May 2010 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Defendor - A véderő

Filming Locations:

Dundas, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$18,628 (USA) (26 February 2010)

Gross:

$37,606 (USA) (26 February 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Insight Film Releasing, Alliance, Darius Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Canadian actor Peter Stebbings's screenwriting and directorial debut.

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Goofs

Arthur makes a big deal about being called "DefenDOR", yet when he's talking with Kat, he calls himself "Defender".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Park: Arthur? Arthur.
Arthur Poppington: Yeah.
Dr. Park: Are you thinking about the question?
Arthur Poppington: Mmm... Are you Japanese?
Dr. Park: No.
Arthur Poppington: Mieko Tatsuri is Japanese.
Dr. Park: Oh. Who is Mieko Tatsuri?
Arthur Poppington: Mmm... She's the leader of Blowback. Her father is a ninja and her mother is an alien from the gamma sector.
Dr. Park: Okay well, I'm Korean from Earth.

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Connections

References The Rockford Files (1974)

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Soundtracks

Help I'm Alive
Written by Emily Haines and James Shaw
Performed by Metric
Courtesy of Metric Productions Inc. under exclusive license to Last Gang Records
Published by Chrysalis Music Ltd. (ASCAP)

User Reviews

A different kind of superhero.

Defendor is the story of a simple, deluded, child-like man, who thinks he's a super-hero. In all likelihood, he should have died a swift and brutal death no later than ten minutes in, but it seems that God watches out for the simple-minded, even in movies. Somehow, Defendor even ends up bumbling his way into doing some good.

Woody Harrelson portrayed Arthur in a way that completely avoided mocking him. Imagine Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. Arthur has definite reasons for his quest and his actions, and as those reasons are revealed during the movie, you become more and more attached to his character. Kat Dennings plays a young prostitute who befriends Arthur and is instrumental in helping him to his final destiny, and Sandra Oh stars as a psychiatrist who learns about Arthur along with the audience.  No one is responsible for the acting burden that Harrelson has, but their performances are still solid. 

I liked this movie a good bit. It was funny in some parts, and sad in others. We really don't get to spend enough time with Arthur/Defendor and his world, but what's here is pretty satisfying.