DefianceMovie Reviews

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• Must Go!
  Written January 20, 2009

  DEFIANCE - tight action/suspense/thriller. GRADE: A

  by MOVIES REVIEWER

  Last week I attended the advance press screening of this stupendous WW2 movie inspired by a true story.
  
  Initially, I thought it was going to be another senseless shoot-em-up blood-splatter flick that Hollywood seems to be churning out wholesale lately - but, I was thrilled to be proven otherwise.
  I was sucked into the well-paced/well-directed plot and for the next 136 minutes I was treated to some very fine acting by the talented cast - plus I was riveted by the excellent editing and cinematography - overall, great production values!
  
  I got to 'know' the Bielski brothers and their grief - plus witnessed(from a different viewpoint) the struggle against the Nazis and the hardships and horrors that the Nazis inflicted on an entire race and those who supported/helped the Jews.
  Plenty of action/suspense - nicely balanced by heartfelt emotional scenes.
  
  VERDICT:
  HIGHLY recommended.
  A Must-See movie.
  Not kids-friendly - violent and disturbing scenes.

  • 1089 out of 1105 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 20, 2009

  Defiance

  by HiYen1323

  Defiance was a heart pounding and heartwarming movie. Daniel Craig is phenomenal, Liev Schreiber exceptional and Jamie Bell Brilliant, The story of three brothers overcoming the odds of Nazi Persecution and bringing a community of Jews together in the face of extinction. At times you want to know the greater scope of the War in the East, instead of the internal conflict of the three brothers and their partisan group. All in all worth watching at the movies and purchasing on Fandango, so you can just pick up your tickets at the Kiosk thus bypassing long movie theater lines!

  • 90 out of 95 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 14, 2009

  Unsung heroes

  by dancastle

  I was invited to see this film a month ago at the Museum of Jewish Heritage with the director (Zwick) and the Belski family as well as 200 other partisan fighters and their families. I was curious to see the film because my grandparents were Partisans, they married in the woods where this film takes place ( a parachute found in the forrest was sewn into a wedding dress for my grandmother). I was more curious to see this film because I wanted to see the reaction of the audience, the people that this movie was based on. There were many tears during the film but nobody left bc it was too difficult to watch and nobody took a bathroom break, nobody. The reactions were as I hoped. The survivors in the audience said it was accurate and although there were a few exagerrations, they said many scenes in the film were played down (implying the real story would be NC-17). Its a good film to see with your kids if youre a parent, its a part of history, a sad but at times, a defiant one.

  • 83 out of 99 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 2, 2009

  outstanding and totally authentic

  by MALKA21

  AS A DAUGHTER OF A JEWISH PARTISAN, AND HEARING MY FATHER STORIES, THIS MOVIE IS SO AUTHENTIC AND TRUE THE DETAIL IS JUST AMAZING, ACTING OUTSTANDING ACCENT PERFECT NOTHING IS OVER THE TOP, JUST THE TRUTH! NOT ALL JEWS WERE TAKEN TO THE CAMPS MANY FAUGHT AND MANY NON-JEWS DID HELP, AND MANY DIED BECASUE OF THAT, THIS FILM WILL MAKE YOU THING ABOUT THE TIMES WE LIVE IN NOW, ABOUT SURVIVING IN A DIFFERENT WAY, AND GIVES US HOPE ANYTING IS POSSIBLE

  • 40 out of 49 found this review helpful.
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  Written January 20, 2009

  Defiance

  by yoli4u

  I thought the movie was great. Definitely, worth seeing. Action, inspirational and a fully developed story.

  • 37 out of 45 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 14, 2009

  ?DEFIANCE? ? IS IT BETTER TO SAVE PEOPLE OR TRY FOR REVENGE?

  by jimchudnow

  Please don?t be put-off by the fact this is another movie about the Nazis in World War II. It?s essentially based on certain true episodes about the 4 Bielski brothers who escaped into a forest in Belarus to try to save more than 1000 people from Hitler?s troops and their collaborators. There is a great deal of tension between the two oldest brothers, Tuvia (DANIEL CRAIG) -- whose main goal is to save the ever-growing number of people looking for food and shelter --, and Zus (LIEV SCHREIBER), who is more interested in attacking the Germans and exacting revenge for their killings. Brother Asael (JAMIE BELL) is caught in the middle between the opposing ideas. Throw in the Red Army (also fighting the Nazis in the area), loads of well-performed roles, and lots of stress, action, romance, ethical differences and difficult living conditions, and you have an enjoyable and uplifting story of courage in the face of thorny odds. The film may not be great, but it?s unusually well done.

  • 35 out of 44 found this review helpful.
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  Written January 4, 2009

  DEFIANCE

  by raycharlesfreak

  THIS STORY HAD NOT BEEN TOLD IN FILM UNTIL NOW, AS MANY HOLOCAUST EXPERIENCES HAVE NOT BEEN, NOR NEVER WILL BE COMMITTED TO FILM OR BOOK. ANYTIME WE CAN SEE WILL AND DETERMINATION OVERCOME EVIL, IT IS A GOOD THING. SCHINDLER'S LIST WAS ANOTHER. MY FIANCE'S POLISH FATHER'S EXPERIENCE WAS ONE JUST AS COMPELLING, BUT WILL NEVER BE TOLD EXCEPT IN THE MOST PERSONAL FAMILY DIALOGS. HE HAS BEEN ASKED, BUT DECLINED TO "HAVE HIS STORY TOLD".
  
  DEFIANCE IS A WELL ACTED, WELL SHOT MOVIE. IS IT THE BEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN? NO. IS IT THE BEST MOVIE OF '08? NO. IS IT WORTH SEEING? DEFINITELY.

  • 39 out of 54 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 20, 2009

  Brilliant

  by mark-2001

  I thought Defiance was a brilliant film, expertly crafted by Edward Zwick (who also directed the elgant film Glory), and with fine acting all around, particularly by Daniel Craig. Craig's performance was layered and encompassed the whole range of human emotions, and solidifies him as a serious, charismatic leading man. He can obviously do more than play the best James Bond ever. Other excellent performances from Liev Schrieber and Alexandra Davalos, plus many lesser characters. The settings - almost entirely in forests - pulled me into the film and held me there, where I suffered the cold and deprivations of the characters (I actually felt guilty eating popcorn while watching them starve).
  
  I rate this film as a compelling drama and a welcome addition to the genres of Holocaust and WWII films. It covers a lesser-known true story of courage and yes, defiance, that deserves to be better known. It made me feel proud both as a Jew and as a human being. -- Mark Cotter

  • 25 out of 30 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 22, 2009

  BEST MOVIE I'VE SEEN IN A WHILE

  by jbdavis1227

  This is a must see! So many WWII movies focus on the concentration camps and the Nazi's. This one focused on survival. They not only survived, they fought back!

  • 20 out of 24 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 31, 2009

  DEFIANCE

  by herbosch

  Amazing! This true story is a must see. The entire audience stood at the end and clapped.
  Very insightful seeing that most of our history books do not tell us of the Jews who fought back.
  
  

  • 16 out of 20 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 17, 2009

  defiance

  by jcwsr1

  I loved this movie. I think that Mr Craig did a very go job no this true story of the 1940'S
  
  The whole cast did a wondful job.
  
  I would tell all my frinds to go and see this movie.
  
  Thanks for a good movie JCW.

  • 20 out of 28 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 24, 2009

  Defiance

  by flamenco62

  Defiance shall remain a tribute to the relatively small but mighty resistance that took place in a world turned upside down, with 6 million Jews murdered, "ethnically cleansed" from Europe by Hitler and his willing co-conspirators. Daniel Craig delivers the performance of a lifetime, with much depth and emotion, but insistant focus on his mission to not only stay alive, but defy the edict of Jew-hatred that was unleashed throughout Europe.
  Other cast members are equally committed to this goal, and the movie is aptly named. The brothers themselves, are torn between joining the Partisans, helping just themselves, or helping thousands who were imprisoned in ghettoes by the Nazis, waiting for a matter of time to go to concentration camps. The director of the film shows brilliantly the personal and group choices that each character had to make. The subplots are riveting, the action moves forward with characters overcoming obstacles, unbelievable small triumphs. An epic film.

  • 18 out of 25 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 23, 2009

  wow-emotional!

  by scarleetta

  this is a superb movie- buttt be warned- its a tear fest- my eyes filled with tears form the first scene. I am not jewish, but am interested in all things holocaust related- Anne frank, modern WW2 films focused on the jews- and i was a wretch watching the horror these people went through. go see it for the story and the acting- just bring the tissues

  • 16 out of 21 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 20, 2009

  Must Go!

  by ischorr90

  Anyone in their right, mature mind would say that this is a spectacular film that takes a very different point of view on WWII than most other war movies. The story was great, and the fact that it was true made it even better. This is a great movie for anyone with mature movie tastes who wants to be deeply moved, educated, and of course, entertained.

  • 15 out of 20 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written January 17, 2009

  Bielski family and their commune of Jewish dissidents surely defied Hitler's Aryan Super Race

  by chilly4221

  Me and my sons were completely mesmerized by the storyline, as well as, the pace of the movie. By far, this was the best movie I've seen in a long time. This movie helped to add to our homeschool curriculum. This movie perfectly demonstrated how history such as this gives us a sense of continuity so that we can attempt to learn from the mistakes and successes of our past. This story accurately portrayed the diehard determination and resistance of a people so wrongly persecuted during the Hitler reign. I found the beginning and the ending very cohesive. It provided a sense of authentication to the documentation of the events the movie attempted to portray. The directors and producers did their best to respect the Bielski brothers' wishes to simply do their duty to preserve the decency of humanity without being glorified or deified for it. May we find the inner strength and resolve to fight like this to the very end.

  • 14 out of 19 found this review helpful.
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