DefianceMovie Reviews

So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 58 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 16+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

88

Premiere |
The perfect antidote to the post-holiday blues. It's exciting, well-acted, touching, and genuine. Read full review
75

Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie Rickey
Here, Jews are not victims of genocide, but victors in the organized resistance against it. Read full review
67

Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman
Zwick offers excitingly staged moments, but once you get past the novelty of WWII Jews acting this heroically macho, Defiance bogs down in a not very well-developed script. Read full review
63

Rolling Stone | Peter Travers
For all the film's flaws, this is a war story told with passion about a band of brothers that still has the power to inspire. Read full review
63

USA Today | Claudia Puig
The tale of the resistance movement in Belorussia is undeniably inspiring and ideally suited for a cinematic rendering. But Defiance resists bold, passionate storytelling and delivers something rather conventional. Read full review
60

NPR | Bob Mondello
It's an inspiring story, if one that doesn't need quite as much poetic inspiration as Ed Zwick's movie insists on giving it, with dialogue that's too often ornate and parable-inflected. Read full review
60

The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen
That butting of heads, as performed by actors as strong and soulful as Craig and Schreiber, lends Defiance an emotional charge, even as the film itself struggles dramatically to find its way out of those woods. Read full review
60

New York Daily News | Joe Neumaier
Craig, far from James Bond but still swaggering, makes a leathery, craggy commander, and Schreiber - who'll show his full-on action chops this summer in the Hugh Jackman "Wolverine" movie - is tough but sullen. Yet all this old-style moviemaking doesn't always pay off. Read full review
50

San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle
As a drama - an epic drama, no less, clocking in at 137 minutes - its fascination is diffused, and the movie becomes something of a long slog. Read full review
50

Boston Globe | Ty Burr
Depressingly predictable in its dialogue and dramatic beats, Defiance is most interesting as a study of unlikely leaders. Read full review

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Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Brave brothers risk all in brutal, graphic WWII epic.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this war movie isn't for kids. There are many fierce battles and violently graphic killings, as well as executions of unarmed citizens. Other images include hand-to-hand combat, mob beatings, point-blank shootings, and barbaric, inhumane treatment of the Jewish population. The language is very strong as well, with lots of harsh swearing. There's some suggested sexuality, but nothing explicit and no nudity. Soldiers and resistance members drink vodka in many scenes, sometimes to excess. But if they can handle the intense content, this movie could offer mature teens and young adults a valuable look at a momentous period of recent world history and a vivid example of heroism -- as well as power and prejudice run amok.

Families can talk about why so many movies about World War II and the Holocaust are still being made so long after the events occurred. What connection do stories about these events have with today's world?
Are there still instances in which strong beliefs set people apart and against one another? How do you think the media will end up treating current conflicts further down the line?
Why do you think the Bielski brothers were heroic? What made them different from the people who were afraid to stand up for themselves?

The good stuff

Positive messages: Classic good-versus-evil situations. Bravery and selflessness are shown to be powerful forces against the enemy. Meanwhile, the Nazis wreak havoc on the Polish Jews -- rounding them up, killing them, bombing them, and spraying bullets into large groups of people (including women and children).
Positive role models: Most of the characters aren't clearly "good" or "bad." For instance, Russian soldiers are shown to be heroic but also anti-Semitic. And the Jewish victims who fight back are shown to be both honorable and selfish, just and unjust.

What to watch for

Violence: Violent battle scenes from beginning to end. Piles of naked bodies lie in a dry river bed; babies and children are wrenched from parents' arms and slaughtered; bombs are dropped on fleeing victims. There are many instances of cold-blooded, point-blank shooting, including the execution of entire families. There are also vicious fist fights, stabbings, and a lengthy scene in which an angry mob beats and stomps a Nazi soldier to death.
Sexy stuff: A man's hand touches a woman's breast over her clothes. Several passionate kisses. One couple is shown embracing, with their bare shoulders visible above blankets to indicate a post-sexual moment.
Language: Harsh swearing throughout, including all forms of "f--k" and many instances of "s--t," "bitch, " and "hell."
Consumerism: Not an issue
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Multiple scenes of Russian soldiers, victims, survivors, and partisans drinking vodka. One leading character drinks heavily. Several scenes in which men drink until they become very drunk. Camaraderie inspired by drunkenness appears to be the only form of recreation available to these people who are hiding out for years.

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