Defiance

Typical Zwick. In this case, that’s a bad thing. A heroic story about an unreal partisan adventure with a biblical parallel in the second plan. It’s built on the old and worn out "based on a true story" model, and what it needed was a good dose of rawness and not kitschy images of the Belarusian forest. Zwick's characters escape, which, assuming the story is based on them, is a major problem that even top actors can't dig him out of. What it lacks is any fatefulness when the difficult decisions are made (and the script offers plenty of them), which is replaced by piecing together a clichéd puzzle from pieces long ago grasped elsewhere. I didn't care that it (apparently) really happened because it is served in the form of a standard movie to satisfy sentimental viewers. The first half of it pissed me off, and by the second half, I had completely checked out. However, I do believe that in the final showdown on the meadow, some people had to give it a standing ovation. I, on the other hand, wanted to kick Zwick in the balls. (20/01/2009)

From the comments, it is evident that some movie fans would prefer to watch Rambo or Ozerov's epic films full of gigantic war scenes, where heroic Soviet soldiers crush German divisions in grand style. However, I find Zwick's film to not be a top-notch, but likable above-average spectacle that dignifies and accurately portrays a very dark period of World War II, namely the Belarusian genocide. These massacres did not spare the non-Jewish population, so even several decades after the end of World War II, the population of Belarus was significantly lower than before the war. Zwick is skilled at navigating between commercial entertainment and film with artistic depth. As for the ratio of war scenes, I have no problem with a significant portion of the film consisting of dialogues and descriptions of Jewish refugees' survival in the Belarusian forests. In fact, Zwick tends to exaggerate, as the majority of the actions of this partisan group involved obtaining provisions since they had a substantial number of women and elderly people, unlike other groups. However, the script does not achieve the rawness that probably corresponds to the reality of people surviving in insane conditions, which cannot be expected from a mainstream film of this kind. The only things that significantly bothered me were the noble phrases from the camp leader's mouth and the general poor dialogue, which ultimately cost the film one star. As for Daniel Craig, he acts very well, as is customary for him, however, type-wise, he didn't completely suit his role. On the other hand, Liev Schreiber perfectly embodied the character of his partisan and avenger. Overall impression: 80%. (12/05/2013)

I'm reluctant to give a lower rating to a film with a Jewish pogrom theme (this dark side of human history needs to be remembered, and I'm glad for any such film), but what am I left with when Zwick's auteurist approach managed to kill even such a strong subject? I'm thinking in particular of the typical Hollywood trademark "last minute", here represented by the final redemptive attack on the tank, which sent the whole experience reliably into a tailspin. For God's sake, is there anyone who still enjoys this tired and abused cliché? Hollywood playing soldier again, don't give me the "true story" claim! And Zwick needs to get his ass spanked with a seven-armed candlestick. The actors, the music and the atmosphere of the Belarusian forests (or Lithuanian forests, where the film was shot) are almost flawless. (31/01/2009)

Edward Zwick surprisingly fails where he is usually strongest. The film is carried in a strangely pathetic and clichéd manner, and the action sequences are a great disappointment; they are quite confusing, lacking in brutality and bloodshed. As a historical reconstruction, the film is considerably ineffective. The smaller budget was noticeable. The sets and production design are not as top-notch as we are accustomed to from Zwick. But it still holds true that he cannot make a completely bad film. He’s a clever guy because he always chooses an interesting subject that even if he messes it up, there will still be a solid storyline. Defiance is not necessarily bad, but it is not particularly interesting either, nor is it very captivating to watch. (12/07/2009)

Defiance is a pretty and good movie, but it could have been beautiful and excellent. Subject matter such as this is simply not served well by the simplified American view neatly dividing everyone into good and bad, and always supplying a dramatic last-minute rescue. The thing that I liked in Edward Zwick’s “fairytale-like” The Last Samurai cannot work in a drama about persecuted Jews. This is yet another vain attempt on the director’s part to ingratiate himself with the Academy. The actors and James Newton Howard are excellent, even though the latter steals from his own score for The Village. (18/04/2009)