THE DEFENDER (Dolph Lundgren, 2004)

[Mosquito]

Ok, of course I wasn't able to wait. I've watched it yesterday.

First thing: It is 16:9 aspect ratio like the cover says! It is anamorphic, so there aren't any black bars on top/bottom but rather at the sides, before I streched the picture to the correct ratio.

Regarding the movie: It is not exactly Die Hard 5 but it is about 100 times better than The Last Warrior (haven't seen Detention yet). But I had some trouble following the dialogues. I am used to watching movies in English but here I wasn't able to follow the story at times. I had the impression that the sound wasn't too good. Have to watch it again and try to understand more.

At the beginning, during the torture scene, we can see that Dolph is still in fantastic shape. Sure, he's not as heavy as he used to be, but now he looks more natural and kind of "harder". Body fat must be low as hell.

I liked the other actors and actresses, too. I thought everyone was pretty convincing.

[carrie]

you sound almost dissapointed mosquito, i hope i didnt big it up too much, yeah your right it does say 16.9 on the cover and its not but at least its dolby digital 5.1. my copy sounds o.k but i doubt i could follow a film that has german dialogue so all respect to you there, maybe its because they are shooting shit out of everything so the dialogue may be a bit lost to you. my husband even sat and watched it and he said its not a bad movie at all(you have to know him to realise what a huge compliment that is)he usually doesnt think much of Dolphs films- mind you i dont pay any mind to what he thinks, he calls"star wars" a brilliant classic- i call it sesame street on ecstacy.you should watch it again,i enjoyed it more the second time around as i noticed things i missed the first time,i rekon i was just preoccupied with Dolph being chained up i lost the plot after that .
i hope i didnt spoil it for you.

[Mosquito]

Hi carrie, no, you didn't spoil it. What still strikes me as odd is that you seem to have a "fullscreen" 4:3 version. I doubt that they produced new DVDs with the right ratio in the middle of the process. Because I can tell you that my copy is 100 per cent 16:9 aspect ratio!

Well, I was slightly disappointed because everybody was so enthusiastic in their reviews. My expectations were a bit too high. Also, I was annoyed in the very beginning because the title credits were so hard to read (that darn visuall effect is not very nice for texts).

But you all are right: the music is very good. Especially the piece where they all are bored when they have to wait during the secret conference. Great chill out music!

[Jox]

that's really strange because I'm sure my DVD is 4/3 unfortunately...

regarding the credits, I thought it was the most polished credit sequence in a Dolph movie, usually they don't spend any money on the credits

[FAKKlover]

I ordered "The Defender" DVD from a website called ethaicd.com. The total with shipping was $22.50. I live in California and ordered it from the Thai site Monday evening. Fed Ex delivered the disc on Thursday morning. This was only one transaction but I'd say they are a good source.

That's where I ordered mine too. $10.50 with standard shipping included reached Sweden in a week. I had problem accessing the DTS audio on my Sony DVD player though. Choosing English DTS from the menu gives me a Thai audio track. Switching on the fly then gives me an English track. Unfortunately I can't tell if I get the right track. It sure doesn't sound any different than the regular 5.1 but there definately is an English DTS track on the DVD; I checked that on the PC. My Casshern 2-Disc that I ordered at the same time acts the same. Audio quality is better on that one thankfully. Not that it was horrible on The Defender but when they got the image quality right, the audio should have been excellent too.

I found another Greek site which has the DVD with more extras for €24,20 but placing an order is a pain in the *** if you don't know the lingo. Might be possible via phone or e-mail however. Not sure if they ship outside Greece. http://www.videosun.gr/

[Terminator]

Well, thanks a lot to Mosquito once more...
... to gave me the opportunity to had a watch at that movie.

Actually, I think this movie is nothing very special and here in Germany it won't be that known...
But even if there were just a few actors on the set with such a few stages... the audience won't miss any action.

I think I even got the uncensored/uncut version, eh?
But anyway, there was nothing cruel, violent etc. I wouldn't have seen before. But hey, Dolph lost a lot of weight, right?
He looked very "skinny", tall and of course a lot more older. oO
Surely a real Dolph fan is always flexible enough to keep his head nodding for a good movie at least.

[Jox]

THE DEFENDER has just been rated R for violence and language by the MPAA, hopefully it will soon be released in the US.

Apparently Bauer Martinez just opened their own domestic distribution venture there (through which they will release soon Modigliani), but it doesn't mean they will release THE DEFENDER theatrically (even limited) even though that would be cool...

[Jox]

I just got the Greek DVD edition of "THE DEFENDER" and was a somewhat disappointed: there was no interviews nor deleted scenes as I had read on several websites. The extras are the trailer and a making of featurette, and the movie is presented in 1.85 aspect ratio 16/9 ( which was lacking on the Thai that I have). The making of is cool but runs barely 6 minutes and shows too many clips of the movie. But there's some good footage of Dolph directing on the set, he's interviewed but mostly talks about the plot, and we also hear Jerry Springer and Shakara Leddard saying he's a great director which nobody should doubt anymore...

[Tom]

Good review from a webiste. It;s a poor translation but the guy gave the film 7/10, pretty good stuff from a web-critic who would usually scoff at a Dolph film. He also once again re-iterates how it is better than Wake Of Death and Into The Sun.

http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en ... f%26sa%3DN

You'll need to put it through googles translater.

[Mosquito]

The OFDB (Online-Filmdatenbank) is a very nice German pendant to the imdb. It focuses on different versions of movies (different DVDs,
TV broadcasts, VHS... : Which one is cut, which DVD has which features etc.).

The user Blade Runner is very active and usually writes very good and substantiated reviews though I don't always agree on his ratings (he
rated Les Rivières Pourpres a 9/10, I rated 4/10). I'll give the translation a try and hope I'm substantially better than Babelfish.

-----
After Bauer Martinez Studios recently helped Jean-Claude Van Damme with "Wake of Death" to a respectable comeback it is now Dolph Lundgren's
("Men of War", "Silent Trigger") turn. Since, due to health issues, his regular director Sidney J. Furie ("Iron Eagle", "The Rage") dropped out shortly
before the beginning of the shooting, the blond giant decided to give directing a try and that worked out astonishingly well because "The Defender" is
his best movie since "Storm Catcher". That's mainly because Bauer/Martinez work with budgets that allows to produce a decent B-action movie. Nu Image,
where "Detention" and "Direct Action" have been produced recently and soon "The Mechanik" and "The Controller" will be produced, have spent only
what is absolutely necessary. Though "Detention" and especially "Direct Action" are still watchable (thanks for Furie's directing) but the setting suffered
noticeably from the scanty budget.

(Oh jeez... I just realise that I'd sit here for the next 2 hours if I really tried to translate the complete article. Please send in your translations, I will restrict
myself to the conclusion.)

Conclusion:
Steven Seagal has had his „Into the Sun“, Jean-Claude Van Damme his „Wake of Death“ and now Dolph Lundgren his „The Defender”. Even though after
the first two movies there had been much more dough, "The Defender" is the best. Stuffed with gunfights, dosed but not exaggerated explosions
and shoot-outs "The Defender" is due to his speed the best contribution to the genre since several months. Moreover, Lundgren's directing debut
has a viable story, a stylish look and consistenly well acting players. Real spectacular moments are missing though. One can still hope that Bauer/Martinez
will let him direct again. I would be happy and classify the lousy "Retrograde" hereby as an "occupational accident". (That's a literal translation, I'm not sure
if you can say that in English)

[Blade Runner]

And Les Rivières Pourpres is a good film *gg* Btw: nice board. The only one in the world wide web I found that gives Lundgren-fans a home. I read here since several months.

[Mosquito]

Welcome aboard, Blade Runner. Now that you are here you can translate your review yourself! Embarrassing that you actually read the base flattery I was writing about you here.

Like I said on gemeinschaftsforum.com: I think Cassel is over-acting, Reno had bad luck with his dialogues and the resolution of the movie is just plain silly. But I'm getting off-topic.

[Blade Runner]

Sorry, but I haven't the time to translate my reviews. I spend already too much time for my OFDb-Co-Admin-Job.

[snooch]

this movie was good but the action was pretty much non stop and so it got a bit too repetetive the direction was handled well by dolph and jerry springer is in it for about 10 mins but the movie is good and im sure all you here will enjoy it.

[BrunnenMatt]

I just got the Greek DVD edition of "THE DEFENDER" and was a somewhat disappointed: there was no interviews nor deleted scenes as I had read on several websites. The extras are the trailer and a making of featurette, and the movie is presented in 1.85 aspect ratio 16/9 ( which was lacking on the Thai that I have). The making of is cool but runs barely 6 minutes and shows too many clips of the movie.

What are the other specs like?

- Does it have English subtitles for Non English Speaking parts?

Thanks a lot,

...BMatt