Defiance: DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review (2009)

Movie, DVD, Blu-ray Review
"Defiance"
The new Edward Zwick movie, “Defiance,” is based on the true story of a group of Jewish brothers who witnessed the murder of their family and friends at the hands of the Nazis during World War II. They fled Poland, escaped to the woods of Belarus, and decided to fight back when their numbers grew to more than a thousand as other Jews took to the woods in an effort to save their lives.

Unfortunately, at other times the movie is so heavy-handed, it can leach into parody, especially in those scenes where food is spare and a piece of bread or a spot of soup is ravaged by the film’s overly eager cast of extras. These folks obviously came from the shoot-for-the-moon-or-bust school of acting, because their performances are so over-cooked, they can be distracting and unintentionally humorous during moments when they should be anything but.

Trouble is, hundreds of others literally trickled out of the woodwork (all of whom would eventually form the Bielski Ostriad resistance). With them came promise in numbers but also complications, not the least of which was how the brothers would feed so many people as winter settled in, and also how they could keep so many in hiding, particularly since the Nazis were busy patrolling the areas nearby.
With tensions rising between the more passive Tuvia and the headstrong Zus--Tuvia believes their revenge should be to live while Zus would prefer to kill those who murdered their family--the movie manages a few solid scenes between Craig and Schreiber, with each actor happy to take on the other while ambushing their share of Nazi troops until the plot works to separate them. As Zwick chafes between Tuvia and Zus, what’s left to hold our interest is Bell’s Asael, who apparently is here to flirt with a pretty girl and have a chance at a first kiss.

Grade: C+
View the trailer here:
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