Defiance: Movie Review

The other night I movie hopped and saw two films back to back, Defiance starring Daniel Craig and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans starring Rhona Mitra. Two polar opposites but both quite enjoyable in their own ways.

Defiance is set during the opening hours of WWII when Germany invaded Russia. Daniel Craig and his brothers come home to discover that their family have been murdered and so retreat in to the nearby forest where they build a camp and live in hiding. Over the years, they take in persecuted Jews and build a community in the forest under his leadership. Food is scarce, the winter is harsh and their camp is discovered multiple times, forcing them to defend themselves and build a new camp elsewhere. It's not really an action film and not as heavy as say Schindler's List. I will have to say that the final "battle" scene in the film was intense. Usually WWII films don't end on a good note and the main characters are never safe from death so when a Nazi tank rolls up with infantry along it's side, you don't know how it could end. Daniel Craig's performance was his best yet. I've seen him in generic roles in Tombraider and The Invasion (which I saw for the first time last night) and starring roles in the rebooted Bond flicks (which are fantastic) but as an actor, I bet he is most proud of this one. Great acting. Great story. Pacing was a little slow but enjoyable nonetheless. I'll review Underworld soon.