The Defender (2004)

So much average

Great Film overall

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

I'd read somewhere that Dolph Lundgren got into directing a few years ago, when the next in a long line of straight-to-DVD cookie cutter action movies had its director get sick, so Ivan Drago himself just stepped in and took the reins. Then I forgot about the movie for four years.I'm flipping channels today, and see the first two names in the credits: Dolph Lundgren ... and JERRY SPRINGER. I make a bet with myself to watch it until Springer shows up, and Springer is playing the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.With all this going for it, it should be one of the grandest movies of the 21st century. Except, no.While not the worst movie I've ever seen, nor the worst action sequences I've ever seen, the action is still choppy, shot from entirely too close a range to see what's going on. The acting isn't terrible (except Dolph, though he's only required to stand there and look chiseled), but the plot is telegraphed in every scene. Every good guy that turns out later to be shady, acts shady the moment they come on screen. Every character who is going to die, the camera lingers on them long enough to give them extra footage for future demo reels. And Dolph's character is named "Lance Rockford." Seriously. I am not making this up.Every action sequence is essentially the same, just a whole lot of bullet sound-effects and nothing interesting to look at or remember. There was some mumbo-jumbo at the beginning where Lance Rockford was a POW in his past, as if to explain that the character is damaged or something. It's completely unnecessary, as is about 45 minutes of the movie. By the time Lance Rockford is faced with a crucial moral dilemma, I honestly don't see how anyone watching it could care.There are better places for your action fix, and better places for your Dolph fix. It's currently averaging around a 5.0 on IMDb, which is about right. It's by no means worth a theatrical release, but nor is it Uwe-Boll-quality, either. Guns fire, people shout a lot, and you'll find yourself getting bored when you're not studying the scars from Dolph's face-lifts. But hey, Jerry Springer plays the bad guy, so that's worth a bonus point.5/10

Okay, confession time right off the bat - I like Dolph Lundgren movies. I can't explain it. I know there are other people out there just like me. A great philosopher (or maybe it was Hulk Hogan) once said, "For people who get it, no explanation is necessary. For people that don't get it, no explanation in the world will convince them to get it." So if you "get it" then please feel free to continue. Anyway, Dolph's output in the last few years has been erratic to say the least. He will occasionally sneak in a good film but the bad weigh down the scale. So imagine my shock when this film, his directorial debut, is his best work in years. The President (Jerry Springer...yes, Jerry Springer) has set up a clandestine meeting between his NSA chief and a Bin Laden type terrorist leader to call a truce. Of course, there are nefarious U.S. Government officials who don't want an end to the "War on Terror" and conspire to stop this from happening. Lundgren is the leader of Secret Service assigned to protect the female NSA head. As always, stuff goes wrong and bullets start flying. The film has a real ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 feel as Lundgren and his crew fight off mercenaries at a remote hotel. Lundgren is actually a better director than half the guys he's worked with in the last 10 years. He has a sense of style, tight pacing and isn't afraid to throw around the red stuff. The plot also has a few nice twists I didn't see coming. So, if you "get it" than this gets the highest rating.

I did not like that movie. Probably because it did not offer anything new or interesting – just shooting – there wasn't even a good scenario. As far as the soundtrack goes – it sucked as well with exception of the song they played at the very end.At first I thought that the movie will be interesting as is started with an operation in Iraq – and you know all these terrorist references which seem to be modern these days. But as the story unfolds I have lost my interest and was hardly keeping myself awake till the end of it.I guess I am not really into action films, but even if I was – I doubt that I will like the way the Defender is filmed. There was only one idea which seemed to be true – that some people have interest to keep the wars in the world going. That's why I am going to give two pints for this movie and a warning that seeing it can be a waste of your time.

Dolph Lundgren takes up directing duties for the first time here and scores a hit! The Defender is a film which remarkably for a B-movie offers some thought provoking ideas. The plot involves political intrigue and corruption but the basic gist is that America wants peace with the international terrorists against them. A secret meeting is set up between the head of NSA and Mohamed Jamar a kind of Sadam/Bin Laden character. Dolph plays Lance Rockford bodyguard and leader of a team of highly trained operatives who look after the head of the NSA. In 91 he thought in the Gulf and was captured and tortured to set an example to America. His torture was ordered from Jamar. So we now have an interesting concept. The meeting takes place in Romania in an empty hotel, a fantastic setting. What happens is that initially Dolph doesn't know who Roberta's Jones (NSA head) is meeting. The meeting is taking place essentially to buy Jamar's invisibility. He cannot be convicted or killed as that would make him a martyr, however if America does nothing they look weak. Buying his invisibility basically means he will never surface again and that America can keep up the pretence that he is being hunted down. So there is now a hotel with a terrorist and the head of the NSA meeting up with bodyguards for each. However this secret meeting is not so secret and they are ambushed. As it turns out by American soldiers, working for a group of traitors who call themselves the patriots group. Including one of the presidents own advisor's, and a senator. They want the meeting to fail, become public and in essence to oust he president and star a war at the same time. There is profit in war it seems. This is an interesting concept in itself but the movie take in an extra interesting twist which you'll have to see for yourself.As a director Dolph does well, raising the question: Why work with so many b-grade hacks in recent years? He does the best directing job since he had the good fortune to work with John Woo in 98 with BlackJack. Lest we not forget that Dolph has worked with some good directors, Woo, Russell Mulcahey, Roland Emmerich, as well as some veterans who although past their best when they worked with Dolph, still must have been useful for picking up tips, for example Sidney Furie, Ted Kotcheff and Bruce Malmuth. The Defender with all it's political intrigue and so called acts of patriotism are comparable to the Bourne films. This is essentially the low budget sibling to those films and although this is inferior, this is still good work. Dolph handles the action well and the action is plentiful with the entire last hour essentially one long action scene. The camera keeps moving creating a real vibrancy and kinetic energy that works well and the action is reality based putting the audience right in there with some great use of sound. The sound design is the best part of this film, strange as that may sound, but it is so well done it really enhances the action. At the same time the editing is tight and this gives the films action a great sense of rhythm and pacing, particularly with some excellent hand-to-hand moments. Cast-wise, Dolph is good in the lead, giving a solid performance. He plays it just right and it's a role that demands subtlety during it's edgier moments. He is ably supported by Caroline Lee-Johnson as Roberta Jones, as well as Shakara Ledard as a female member of Dolph's security teams. The rest of Dolph's team are also good. Particularly good in support is the one and only Jerry Springer as the president! President Springer! How cool would that be? Very methinks! Anyway Jerry is surprisingly good in fact because acting his not his first profession. The film is also blessed with a good score from Adam Norden whose subtle synth based score does not try to recreate a full orchestra, but instead plays to the strengths of the synthesiser and he creates some interesting themes. Also the cinematography from Maxime Alexandre is excellent, making the film look far more polished than Dolph's more recent efforts and giving it the gloss of one Seagal and Van Damme's latest efforts the considerably more expensive Into The Sun and Wake Of Death respectively. The Defender it must be said is also far superior to those films and is a film I would certainly watch at the cinema, even without my main man Dolph in it. It has interesting concepts and is a good action film. I have seen some abysmal films at the cinema like A Man Apart and Collateral Damage, Driven. All with big action stars, yet Defender is a hell of a lot better than those films. It has some integrity and excitement. Overall this is a solid piece and Dolph's fans will be more than happy. Adding to their excitement, Dolph is taking up directing duty in his next film too, with him playing a Russian hit-man in The Mechanik, co-starring Ben Cross (Chariots Of Fire). The Defender is a good watch for any action fan. ***1/2