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 Reviews ‘SpaceWalk’ (2023)
We join Bob Spletzer for the opening episode of his travel doc, which sees him explore the US space program and the […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘24 Hour Party People’ (2002)
A semi-fictional tale of how Manchester’s alternative music scene was born as it follows the life of Factory […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Willow’ (1988)
Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) is a Nelwyn, born into the simple life of farming, with aspirations of one day, […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Nope’ (2022)
Similar to Jordan Peele’s last feature (Us), Nope opens with a subplot – the aftermath of a series of brutal […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (2022)
As well as the trailer for Everything Everywhere All at Once being packed with variety, the tagline for this movie […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Super’ (2010)
Super follows the story of Frank Darbo (Rainn Wilson), a luckless fry cook who has literally only had two perfect […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘The Whale’ (2022)
After a long hiatus, audiences at Tyneside Cinema welcome the beautiful soul that is Brendan Fraser back to the big […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Dune: Part Two’ (2024)
Picking up from where we left off, Denis Villeneuve’s sequel gives us a more granular, in-depth experience for the […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘The Santa Clause’ (1994)
A movie responsible for a generation of adults spelling Santa Claus wrong, we have The Santa Clause. The story […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘Titane’ (2021)
As the movie opens – following a brief tour of the underbelly of an automobile – we see a middle-aged […]
Jacked In Recommends ‘Whiplash’ (2014)
Whiplash follows the story of nineteen-year-old, aspiring drummer, Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), in his first year […]
Jacked In Reviews ‘The Turk’ (2023)
The Turk is a comedy that tells the tale of two buddies, Tom (Matthew Kay) and Glen (Elliott Eason) on the hunt for […]