Defendor is a superhero movie where the main protagonist gets beaten up, broken time and again but never gives up on his belief. He has no gismo toys, super vehicle, or leather suit or hitech weapons.
His personality also has similarities to the naive Forrest Gump. Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) who is Defendor at times come across as a boy man who is caught up in the innocence of his childhood. The pain he felt when he lost his mother to drugs, brought up by his disillusioned grand-father who had fought in the World Wars. Arthur’s honesty, innocence, and transparent yet clever persona which shines through his dialogues is generally loved by people who he comes across. They spare harming him, thinking at times that he is a retard.
Defendor looks for Captain Industry, a drug lord who he wants to punish since drugs killed his mother and continues affecting other mothers. Initially not taken seriously, Defendor’s fight continues as a one man army which falls with the finale.
What happens to Defendor? Does he find Captain Industry and destroys him? Watch the movie to find out.
Woody Harrelson plays the character with precision. He brings memories of Munnabhai to mind. The movie is a celebration of the superhero which lives in all ordinary men which make them do extra ordinary things. It is also the story of selfless friendship and affection which come from real friends which never ever fade. The character of Arthur is like an outcast who never really lets down anyone and not himself. It’s a character which seeks anarchy or a sort of organized anarchy to bring order to society. The movie bombards you with the question of the wrongs in society and corruption and the right or wrong way to fight it.It also reveals the ugly truth that life altering psychological tragedies in life transforms the thinking of humans.
However, the movie is not magnanimous or larger than life like a real superhero movie nor tries to make you cry at the end since it also aims at something of a light presentation of a heavy matter such as that of ’Life is beautiful’.