Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell

Four Jewish brothers escape from Nazi-occupied Poland into the Belarussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and others...( read more  read more... ) in danger.

Flixster Users

75% liked it

225,715 ratings

Critics

56% liked it

167 critics

R, 2 hrs. 17 min.

Directed by: Edward Zwick

Release Date: January 16, 2009

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DVD Release Date: June 2, 2009

Stats: 12,697 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (12,697)


  • October 4, 2009
    Better than I was expecting, with engaging performances even if the story has little new to say about WWII partisan resistance. Mixing in english with accents was no doubt a commercial decision but it spoils the authenticity the rest of the film sets up.
  • August 15, 2009
    It is an interesting story, the actors are fine, the score is strong, the cinematography beautiful, but the whole is less than the sum of its parts. It is a perfectly good but unremarkable film, as it finds nothing new to say about one of the most tired subjects in all of film an...( read more)d pales in comparison to several such films that preceded it. Too often it feels like simply going through the motions; it is uninspired; but the story is good enough to be engaging anyway.
  • July 29, 2009
    I really like this original set , dialogue and story that was inspired through real people during World War. Really great film.
  • July 28, 2009
    This is one of the few Holocaust movies I've seen that show the Jewish people putting up an incredible resistance against the Germans. Over a thousand lives were saved in this true depiction.
  • July 20, 2009
    I'm not familiar with the true story so I cannot verify historical accuracy, but the movie was very engaging and well made. If the movie was faithful to the story, then it is an amazing story indeed.
  • November 20, 2009
    its interesting and one of the best film... it shows humanity to the society
  • November 17, 2009
    Quite painfully dull. Although its pretty awesome that these guys actually existed, there was no need to go on about it for more than two hours with one of thy messiest and rough starts I have endured. It's rubbish compared to Blood Diamond and its somewhat hard to believe that i...( read more)ts the same director.
  • November 16, 2009
    "Defys" more than just your normal revenge film, by mkaing you feel sorry fot the people being killed in revenge, nonetheless it is intriguing.

    'Your average, entertaining true-stroy, with no more than just your pointless, irrelevanent,brainless acting by Craig, with a little ...( read more)senseless violence thrown in this little war."
  • November 15, 2009
    This movie is by far the most boring movie about WW II.. I almost fell asleep in the first part but it gets better as it reaches the conflict and climax.. but still this is not as good as I expected..
  • November 14, 2009
    Amazing, Powerfull. One of the most intresting film in a long time.

Critic Reviews


January 16, 2009
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

As a piece of historical redress, a great service has been done in bringing this narrative to the screen. full review

January 16, 2009
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

It's difficult, perhaps impossible, to make a gripping 137-minute epic about people standing around under the trees. full review

January 16, 2009
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

It is, all in all, a film as square-shouldered as its leads -- tough-minded, forcibly acted and conventionally spun by Zwick and co-writer Clayton Frohman. full review

January 16, 2009
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

What is puzzling is how Edward Zwick has taken an extraordinary real-life story about a handful of people who defied huge odds, and turned it into an utterly conventional war movie. full review

January 16, 2009
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

Zwick, intent on correcting the perception of Jews as passive victims, lets the action set pieces overwhelm the more intimate scenes, several of which are already diminished by stilted dialogue. full review

January 16, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

What the Bielski brothers did in the forests of Belorussia deserves to be remembered and celebrated, but this glossy studio production robs them of life. It's not just new Holocaust stories that we ne... full review

January 16, 2009
Michael Sragow, The Baltimore Sun

With the possible exception of Valkyrie, no recent movie has gotten less out of a mind-boggling piece of history than Defiance. full review

January 16, 2009
Josh Rosenblatt, Austin Chronicle

The story, in other words, is pure Hollywood gold, full of opportunities for stirring speeches, ethical quandaries, lessons about tolerance and humanity, and violence against Nazis. full review

January 16, 2009
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

Powerful, gripping and quite remarkable. Daniel Craig gives the performance of his career. full review

January 16, 2009
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

The script hokes up the tensions between the brothers played by Craig and Schreiber, and while they're both fascinating, simmering-kettle performers, they consistently outshine their material. full review

View more Defiance reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • roboperson
    February 17, 2009
    i really can't wait to see this! Daniel Craig looks real cool!
  • AsianNorthOfThailandGeneration
    February 6, 2009
    Glitter Graphics

    Glitter You Rock Graphics


    very funny , exciting against shot with 'em actions on the film you know . Have you watch it?
  • AsianNorthOfThailandGeneration
    January 22, 2009
    Glitter Graphics

    Glitter You Rock Graphics


    Do you know?I'm wishing would like to been thier at the theatre to watch it this film . & i'm 'll do it .& i'm had to seen it this film on movies preview & at box office. I'm also liked he actor actions starring films on this film . Coz i'm had to knew about him actions on the films from Casino Royale & Quantum Of Solace
  • mal2pool
    January 19, 2009
    My favourite film of the year so far! Daniel Craig was great, much better than in the latest bond. Jamie Bell is fast becoming one of my favourite actors too. Really believable performance. Only complaint is the film should have continued after the tank battle to see how they built the mini village in the forest. I wouldn't have minded an extra 30 mins or so. We didn't get to see that or the liberation. Not sure if it's an acurate account of what happened, infact i don't think it is after ,especially when Daniel Craig's brother turned up just in time to save the day following a german onslaught. Nevertheless it was a thrilling ending. Get it on DVD, i will!
  • gpbzmcz
    January 18, 2009
    good movie
    cool
  • JDFortuneFan
    January 20, 2008
    A trailer is up on www.movieweb.com ....

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