Gary J Hewitt’s The Defender pretty much delivers what it promises on the tin. This is a story we’ve seen time and time again. If someone described a movie about a vigilante with a troubled past, taking the law into their own hands, already your mind is swarming with titles.
However, the plot isn’t necessarily the issue, there’s a reason the subgenre is used so often, people enjoy it – and you can certainly make it your own. After all, John Wick is different from Death Wish and both differ again from British approaches like Harry Brown. The problem is, that everything in this movie is simply competent. There’s nothing that grants it individuality or makes the film stand out amongst its peers.
A thriller without the thrills
The pacing is somewhat one note and a lot of the scenes tend to linger past last orders, making it (for the most part) a thriller without the thrills. The Scottish setting – as well the recordings from the mother – do give things a bit more steam and kudos to the acting chops of Sasha Macpherson. Unfortunately, they could have perhaps shined brighter within a film with more substance.
Jacked In Recommends ‘Death Becomes Her’ (1992)
Death Becomes Her follows the toxic friendship of Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) and Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn). […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Wicked Little Letters’ (2024)
Thea Sharrock’s Wicked Little Letters, a movie that is British from head to toe, so what better place to […]
The Most Memorable Movie Santas
Over the years there have been many Christmas movies, telling their own festive tales, however, there is one […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Sid’ (2023)
A tale that was just waiting to be told, Shahzaib Yaqoob’s short brings us a dark re-imagining, showing the […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ (2017)
After the local authorities fail to catch the people responsible for committing unthinkable crimes against her […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Renfield’ (2023)
Today’s setting is the classic screen found at Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema, with very apt red velvet seats in […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Natura’ (2023)
From the opening shot, you’re immediately captured by an open woodland which truly readies you for being emersed in […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Hundreds of Beavers’ (2022)
As we open on a black & white prologue showing a mixture of live action and animation, we see the infamous Jean […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Evil Dead Rise’ (2023)
We open with a particularly, classic, demonic POV as it gives us a tour of what seems to be a familiar woodland […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Aldbrough’ (2023)
Gail Smith’s Aldbrough gives us a grainy, 8mm window into the past with archive footage of a town long gone.
Jacked In Reviews ‘Hellraiser’ (2022)
After a 4 year hiatus, a new Hellraiser dawns on the big (well, depending on the size of your television) screen […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Red Fox’ (2023)
Red Fox tells a powerful tale of blurred “justice” and despair, as a bunch of deluded folk of faith hunt a homeless […]