Why so much hype?

Highly Overrated But Still Good

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This movie really knocks you down. It's solidly written, filmed and stacked with an excellent cast. The location is perfect, the era is captured beautifully...I mean there's just nothing to complain about with this film.Starring a young Jan Michael Vincent, this really is a flawless example of a reluctant hero story. A sailor named Tommy (Vincent) is temporarily suspended for fighting with a fellow crew member and finds himself stuck in a rundown slum in New York. Hating living in the city, he just can't wait to get back out to sea. Almost immediately though, being the new face in the neighborhood he becomes the target of a street gang and clashes with them repeatedly. Not looking for trouble, Tommy just tries to avoid the gang and bide his time until he can get back to work. He does the same with the residents of his temporary home.Tommy doesn't want to get attached because he just wants to move on. But the longer he stays the more he begins to like the people he meets. He begins to fall in love with a local girl and befriends a homeless boy. Try as he might, he just can't help but be drawn in by the good people in a place he thought he would hate. Simultaneously he gets dragged into facing down the neighborhood thugs time and time again. Historically, many figures from our past have been reluctant to get involved in whatever battle they wound up fighting. From Wyatt Earp to Wild Bill Hickock, Alvin York to Bernhard Goetz history is full of real life people who really didn't want to get involved in defending others or standing up for justice when the law failed to but wound up doing it anyway. Even the United States itself was reluctant to become involved in World War II and Canada was reluctant to enter the Afghan and Iraq wars. Deep down inside some people, as much as they desire to avoid a fight and seek instead to live in peace, when they face injustice they simply can't help but become involved and defend those who can't defend themselves. Sometimes some people when pushed, push back and if pushed far enough will push back hard. Even to the extent of killing if need be.Forgive me for rambling...but that really is what this movie is all about and it is so well put together that you understand the central character perfectly. Your never frustrated with him, you never see him as a coward. You just see a man who wants peace but winds up in a war. There's even more to this movie than that, there's a lot of dramatic moments and even moments that tug at your heart but I don't want to spoil the film for you by revealing to much. On the surface this movie may sound like any other revenge or vigilante movie but it's far from it.If your a fan of those genres, you'll definitely find this movie enjoyable but even if your not typically into movies like Death Wish (1974) or Rolling Thunder (1977) you can easily get into this movie. There's an excellent story worth sinking into here and an excellent cast that makes this movie much more than it would have been otherwise. Don't let the PG rating fool you either. Sure, there's no sex nudity gore excessive violence or even foul language but keep in mind that some of the best films in history had none of that.Don't get me wrong, I love watching Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood blow away the scumbag thugs as much as anybody. But I can also appreciate a good clean film that excels in all regards the way this one does. In fact, I find it admirable that the people who made Defiance managed to make it so dam good and yet wind up with a PG rating. It's movies like this, the rare under rated gems that you hardly ever hear about but that knock you over and leave you smiling when the credits roll...these are the movies that keep me going. They keep me searching for films I haven't seen and keep me believing there's still good movies out there for me discover. Give this one a try, I bet you'll never forget it for the rest of your life. I would also bet if your not familiar with Jan Michael Vincent this movie will have you hunting down more of his work.

I think this is JMV's finest Hour and a half on film besides AIRWOLF and why this isn't out on DVD yet is beyond me. With all the crap they they do have out now, I would have thought I could find this somewhere but alas, I can't but thank god I have it on VHS when I copied it years ago for my own personal use.You have already read the storyline from the rest of the comments up there so take my word for it, this flick is worth watching if you like "Gangs tearing up the neighborhood and the good guys kick their asses in the end" movies.It's just a shame the JMV's career has since gone down the toilet.

Merchant seaman Tommy Gamble, Jan-Michael Vincent, is strander in New York City because of some trouble he had with the captain of the freighter that he sailed on the last time he was out at sea. Finding a place to stay in the lower east side he's confronted by a gang of local toughs, The Souls, and shows them he's not intimidated by them like everyone else in the neighborhood is. Although Tommy is reluctant to become one he ends up not just becoming a hero but an inspiration to every one in the neighborhood. Showing them that by standing up and fighting back against thugs is much better then giving into them. The whole neighborhood, who for a long time was too scared and intimidated by the gang-bangers to confront them, rises up against them and runs them out of town. Tommy not only gets the girl Marsha, Theresa Saldana, but all his neighbors gratitude and respect as well.Uplifting little film made much along the lines of that old western "High Noon", It's in that film where the sheriff, Gary Cooper, is forced to take on a gang of outlaws by himself because nobody in town would come to his aid who In the end, after dispatching them single handedly, throws away his badge and rides off with his girl, Grace Kelly, into the sunset leaving the cowardly towns people behind. The difference in "Defiance" is that Tommy was only able to clean up the town from the outlaws with the help of the towns people which made the movie more realistic and believable.

For me, DEFIANCE was/is a film that delivered. Is it 'high art'?--I dunno. But it sure held my interest. JMV is our reluctant hero, 'Tom'. A merchant seaman, stranded in New York because of a beef on the job, near penniless Tom is forced to seek cheap digs in a slum rental while he waits for another ship assignment. He quickly crosses paths with 'The Souls', the Latino gang that holds the neighborhood in a grip of terror.Tom is no white knight or crusader. A world weary pragmatist, he's just a guy trying to keep to himself until he can catch that much-needed next freighter out to sea. Though not an immediate champion of justice, neither is Tom indifferent to the suffering of others and gradually he finds himself being drawn into the lives of several of the local residents.It is the leader of the Souls gang, 'Angel', with his determination to maintain his grip on his turf, and interloper Tom, with his stubborn refusal to abandon his newly made friends, who ignite the inevitable final--and highly satisfying--confrontation.Is DEFIANCE a film filled with startling plot twists and dazzling production value? No. But I found it to be highly entertaining with real sincerity--and it continues to please me after repeated viewings. All hands involved in this production deserve praise for working within their limited budget to craft a tough, tender and edgy action/drama where an average fella, who cannot ignore his heart, takes a huge risk to correct a great injustice.Is it SHANE?--Naw. (But what is?) I will tell you this: this flick delivers a whole fist-full of solid scenes. Fer instance: the moment when Tom draws his 'line in the sand'. Waiting until cover of darkness, Tom strides out of the shadows, club in hand, and begins to demolish Angel's beloved 'low rider' as an invitation to the gang--"Come and get me."That scene works on EVERY level: script, direction, photography, JMV's smoldering fury, the startling, hot musical score that punctuates the moment--IT ALL WORKS! It gave me goose bumps the first time and it still gives me a kick to this day. DEFIANCE had me in it's grip: "Yeah, Tom! Screw the consequences! Let's take it to these vicious punks."This flick never had anywhere near the budget or status of say, a DIE HARD, but it sure has the heart. In the early '80s, as I lived in my tiny apartment in Hollywood and struggled to write, I kept a tattered DEFIANCE poster tacked to my wall for inspiration.DEFIANCE: a solid, commendable script, in the hands of a no-nonsense, focused director, who's leading a sincere and supportive cast--all in pursuit of a simple, but meaningful, action/morality tale that can't help but touch you on some level if you believe in justice and decency. Not too shabby, folks. Not too shabby at all.Now I just wish somebody would get DEFIANCE onto a proper DVD (and throw in a few extras like cast/crew interviews, a trailer, maybe even some out-takes). I'd buy a copy in a heartbeat. And five more for some friends.