---Recently the actor Daniel Craig has gained some momentum in Hollywood, starting with his stellar job in “Casino Royale.” His most recent film to hit the big screen is “Defiance.” It is about a family of Jewish brothers who create a settlement in the woods to resist German occupation and crimes in Belarus. From the trailer it had all the signs of a masterpiece. In a flurry of reviews, this potential Oscar winning film received an astounding…mediocre rating. Averaging 58 out of 100, here is what some of the critics said.
---Right on point with this rating, the “New York Times”, “LA Times”, and “Baltimore Sun” all gave the movie 50 out of 100. The “New York Times” alludes a lot to director Zwick’s pen and camera. A. O Scott, the author of the article, comments on how the camera work lacks subtlety but rather is heavy handed with blatant scene punctuations and obvious messages. Scott also mentions that the acting is quite moderate and wouldn’t be out of place if in a Eastern melodrama.
---Right on point with this rating, the “New York Times”, “LA Times”, and “Baltimore Sun” all gave the movie 50 out of 100. The “New York Times” alludes a lot to director Zwick’s pen and camera. A. O Scott, the author of the article, comments on how the camera work lacks subtlety but rather is heavy handed with blatant scene punctuations and obvious messages. Scott also mentions that the acting is quite moderate and wouldn’t be out of place if in a Eastern melodrama.
---Kenneth Turan from the “LA Times’” film column hits on the fact that the dialogue is often on-the-nose with generic sentiments such as the typical wisecracking in difficult times. The film is too often generic for Turan. However the author says that the film has strengths in the fact that it is a unique story with crisp battle sequences and strong acting.
---The “Baltimore Sun’s” Michael Sragow has some problems with the film’s directing as well. He says that Zwick could have made the film much deeper, missing opportunities in the plot to play on the audience’s superego with the specific brother’s internal conflicts. Sragow also says that the characters were turned into stick figures by indirectly announcing their intentions right from their individual introductions. With this movie, Zwick, according to Sragow, ‘remains an in-between kind of filmmaker, neither brilliant nor instinctive. At best, his ambition unearths extraordinary new material for the screen.’
---William Arnold of “Seattle P-I” gave the film an A-, translated to a 91 out of 100 by metacritic. From the start he hails Edward Zwick, saying that he has few contemporary equals in making intelligent war epics such as “Blood Diamond” and “The Last Samurai;” and this movie is of the same quality. After romping through the plot, Arnold says that ‘"Defiance" also rises above this specific intention to be an absorbing family saga, a thrilling combat movie and a backwoods epic that conveys the feel of a frontier-community-under-duress with the vividness of a John Ford classic.’ He then concludes that the movie is packed with great action sequences and sincere acting, especially Craig that anchors the movie.
---A review that rates the film in the middle of 50 (the lowest) and 92 (the highest) is by Ann Hornaday of the “Washington Post”, rating the film 70 out of 100. In this short review, Hornaday says that Zwick does great work tying in action, violence, and history. She comments that the acting is terrific but the film suffers in its movie moments dealing with ‘too-perfect lighting, too-eloquent speeches, and too-tidy fight scenes.’
---Most of the reviewers agree that the battle scenes directed by Edward Zwick are quite exceptional but are split on the point of the dialogue. Some feel it was balanced with humor and emotion, while others think it was too typical of the film genre. Overall the movie seems average but could also be considered fantastic, depending on your view.
---The “Baltimore Sun’s” Michael Sragow has some problems with the film’s directing as well. He says that Zwick could have made the film much deeper, missing opportunities in the plot to play on the audience’s superego with the specific brother’s internal conflicts. Sragow also says that the characters were turned into stick figures by indirectly announcing their intentions right from their individual introductions. With this movie, Zwick, according to Sragow, ‘remains an in-between kind of filmmaker, neither brilliant nor instinctive. At best, his ambition unearths extraordinary new material for the screen.’
---William Arnold of “Seattle P-I” gave the film an A-, translated to a 91 out of 100 by metacritic. From the start he hails Edward Zwick, saying that he has few contemporary equals in making intelligent war epics such as “Blood Diamond” and “The Last Samurai;” and this movie is of the same quality. After romping through the plot, Arnold says that ‘"Defiance" also rises above this specific intention to be an absorbing family saga, a thrilling combat movie and a backwoods epic that conveys the feel of a frontier-community-under-duress with the vividness of a John Ford classic.’ He then concludes that the movie is packed with great action sequences and sincere acting, especially Craig that anchors the movie.
---A review that rates the film in the middle of 50 (the lowest) and 92 (the highest) is by Ann Hornaday of the “Washington Post”, rating the film 70 out of 100. In this short review, Hornaday says that Zwick does great work tying in action, violence, and history. She comments that the acting is terrific but the film suffers in its movie moments dealing with ‘too-perfect lighting, too-eloquent speeches, and too-tidy fight scenes.’
---Most of the reviewers agree that the battle scenes directed by Edward Zwick are quite exceptional but are split on the point of the dialogue. Some feel it was balanced with humor and emotion, while others think it was too typical of the film genre. Overall the movie seems average but could also be considered fantastic, depending on your view.
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