The Defender

I have always had a weakness for action films, and though I usually avoid ones that promise to have a lot of suspense simply because I am actually easily scared I found that this movie is fantastic despite the few areas that are full of suspence are deftly handled and add to the plot of the story rather than being just there to scare you. the plot is well thought out and executed...I must say I was surprised at the ending! although in hindsight I should have seen it coming. Anyway, I love the way it was directed, the lighting was perfect in every shot...well thought out, you know, sometimes in movies something is supposed to happen at night but it seems really bright outside? well, that doesn't happen in this movie. death scenes are believable, blood strategic rather than over the top...not that there isn't a lot of it...and really, really well acted. There weren't very many awkward parts, where you didn't believe that the charecters really were who they thought that they were. And though I normally find that political stories are a bit dry, or totally paranoid I found this one to be really engaging and not the least bit boring. On the whole it you like action films, and slightly surprising plot twists, I suggest this movie wholeheartedly.

So how many movies has Dolph Lundgren been in? Quite a few, right? Well, I have to say, this has been one of his best works so far. Maybe it's because he also had the whole directing thing going on, I don't know. What I do know is that he did a great job with the movie in both aspects (directing and acting).

Solid movie that won't dissapoint.

"The Defender" is an interesting film because of the questions it raises about people who place values of patriotism so high that they are willing to violate the principles of democracy they seek to defend. This fundamental philosophic blunder that the end justifies the means is well illustrated in Douglas W. Miller's screenplay with Dolph Lundgren's direction. Jerry Springer plays the president who uncovers a top-level plot to overthrow the president. Along with Mrs. Jones -- who I wasn't sure whether she played the National Security Advisor or the Secretary of State -- set up a clandestine meeting with a figure so heinous that it'd be like George Bush setting up a meeting with Osama bin Laden. Mrs. Jones is played by Caroline Lee Johnson, who does a good job as the brainy and loyal presidential advisor. Since this is extremely top secret, only a few are privy to the meeting taking place; and it is stressed to Lundgren's security force that no one must know. Unfortunately, Newell played by Ian Potter from The Jacket & "Saving Private Ryan" is the patriotic traitor who believes the president is too soft on terrorists and must be removed. When Lundren & Mrs. Jones show up for the secret meeting at a castle outside of Bucharest, Romania, they are met by a team of United States secret ops who are there to kill Jamal (the Osama character) and Mrs. Jones, making public the president's blunder. So the irony is that you've got U.S. secret ops sent out to kill the Secretary of State (my best guess) being fought by Dolph Lundgren's secret service ops. The reversal comes when we learn that the entire meeting has been a setup to flush out the traitorous high level generals, senator and national security people. Shakara Ledard who was in "Raising Helen" plays Kaye, one of Lundgren's security team that proves to be a mole for the other side. The climactic scene with Lundgren flipping a blade up a staircase and into her chest brings the bloodshed to a head. Dolph Lundgren who I first saw in "Rocky IV" and liked in a 1992 film called "Universal Soldier" does a good but fairly stone-faced job of commanding his team. Some will find the idea of the United States attacking the United States in the country of Romania a bit far-fetched. Even stranger is that we're asked to root for the Romanian police force who shows up and machine guns down the bad Americans. The production values and the rote editing place this in the "B" picture category, but it is an interesting flick for action fans as well as those intrigued by the inner workings of Washington D.C. Enjoy!

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