Defiance

I couldn't decide from the first few minutes of the film - is this a trailer for a movie or a very long flashback sequence?

The movie listed itself as 71 minutes and became a shade over 60 (on DVD)

All the action sequences changed POV so quickly it was impossible to latch onto the story. Character development was practically non nonexistent and the final scene was over so quickly it was a surprise to see the credits. Acting ranged from appalling to not so bad. I should have known in the final fight scene that it was the main bad guy who was killed - that was the most realistic makeup of the entire move !!! And that's saying something...

Give me my hour back :)

I caught this dreadfully bad film while channeling surfing and landing on a TV station that specializes in B movies (though until this point no D and E graders). My quick initial impression was that Defiance was a comedy, albeit a cheesy poorly made one, terrible acting, awful period costumes (was expecting to see a price tag still attached), and an over-all amateurishness of production that screams high school project.

A total waste, hopefully all those involved with this abomination of a film have either drastically improved their skills, or found better uses for their time and "talent".

The only saving grace was the remote control was close-by to end the misery.

There was a great gaping black hole where any skill that could have been was lost entirely. I am at a loss for words of how terrible the direction in this film was. In fact, this goes for everything in the film. The filmmakers' had spunk, I'll give them that. It takes a lot of guts to let someone put your name on the credits of a movie like "Defiance." The acting (with a partial exception) was exponential horrible. It sucked harder than Mega Maid. (It is an absolute torture to watch Tony Twist in the role of Nathan Cross--he brings the same boring nothingness to the screen that he spurted for Blues on the ice!)

And another thing, the villain was the worst in the history of cinema, that's including all B-movies. You couldn't take the guy seriously. I admire the actors who didn't crack up just by watching him act. At first, I thought this film was a comedy, then I realized they were trying to be serious. That made it all the more hiliarious, if you add, 'under the sheets' to every line that the horny old guy, the villain, and the narrator said. My friends and I had a good ol' time tearing every line apart, limb from limb, adjective from noun. Speaking of lines, the dialogue was some of the worst ever written. It just fused together with the terrible acting to create a great busty beast of performances where it felt as if they were just quoting memorized lines with no emotion whatsoever.

Only complaint: I saw this movie. From the first scene, it felt like something I would see if I handed a camera to a couple of horny old men and watched them go into my backyard and starting filming something which I cannot put into words. That's what this film means to me.

All in all, frustrations and failings aside, this indie sucked.

-7/10

The older one tries to take the high road. He becomes responsible, taking care of his sick mother and younger brother while continuing to go to school (he's 12). The younger one gives in to his anger, and becomes destructive, spiteful, and violent. The older does his best to protect the younger, until the actions of the youngest brother take the life of the son of one of the town's richest men (also responsible for the murder of their father). This seemingly random killing is anything but, because young Tommy is sick, dying, and no longer cares about being careful. The conclusion is a great scene, though a bit predictable. A very high quality independent movie.

I am not sure what the movie Defiance is all about, not sure if it is a western, a post Civil War era story or a comedy....but one thing is for sure, the makers of Defiance didn't know either.....the movie is a compilation of scenes that are spun into a plot that continuously creates a sense of "where is this going?" In essence the movie has scene after scene that does nothing but emphasize and embellish hate over and over....someone gets out of line...BANG...someone spits the wrong way.....BANG.....someone talks out of line....BANG...then the end of the movie comes and guess what???? BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG...a bar room shoot 'em up that looks like it was filmed one time without editing..... Some of the saving graces of the film are some of the scenery where the movie was shot, details to the guns for the era, costumes that appear to mirror the times and Ric Dark's performance as Owen...the reckless gun for hire that looks like a cross between Ulysess S . Grant and Clint Eastwood....very powerful and someone to keep your eye on in future films. Craig Hawksley brings comic relief to the film when everyone is about to be massacred in the films final shoot 'em up scene. Thumbs up for a cult classic, thumbs down if you are wanting anything else....