Being a huge Dolph Lundgren guy, I'm always on the lookout for his next picture. When I saw this one on imdb, it sounded like a good deal: Dolph Lundgren in his directorial debut. Not only that, but my favorite TV personality, Jerry Springer, plays the president. That just seemed like the coolest concept to me.
The Defender is about Dolph Lundgren as Lance Rockford, a CIA dude who was captured and tortured in the Gulf War. Later, he has to accompany a women who's very Condy Rice-ish to Romania to meet a secret dude. The secret dude is actually the terrorist they've been hunting, and the deal is he has to be kept alive and hidden, because if he's killed or captured, he becomes a martyr. At the same time a coup is planned by some dudes called The Patriot Group. What does one have to do with the other? It's all explained in a big twist.
This movie isn't bad. Dolph's a good director, which I can't imagine is any surprise, since he seems to be good at everything. His character name, Lance Rockford, is sufficiently Tank Concrete enough for me. For some reason, and maybe Dolph's in on the joke too, but even when he's the film maker, he still has the requisite shot in the left arm. The guy can't make it out of any movie without being shot in the left arm. It's his calling card.
Springer delivers as the president, but he's not in the movie too too much. He and his Secretary of State have snuffed out this coup plot, and the majority of the movie is spent with him in these quick five minute clips grimacing about the fate of the country. Then the payoff: he arrests a bunch of plotters and tells them "You've messed with the wrong country, and you definitely FUCKED with the wrong president!" It's the kind of line in a movie that makes you do the Tiger Woods post 30-foot birdie putt fist pump. Yes!
The female lead is split into two roles. Shakara Ledard is supposed to take the hotty half, and she's good at it, especially when she's flirting with Dolph asking if she could be Minnie Mouse to his Mickey when they go to Disney World. The other woman is the Condy Rice one, and though she's not as hot as her real life counterpart (Condy is the bomb), she has some of the elements, like the big boots and... well, I guess that's it. Maybe when this Administration is over in 2008, Dolph and the real Condy and make a film together. A guy can dream, right?
This film has some critiques of the Bush Administration's foreign policy weltanschauung. They think a more multilateral approach to achieving our goals is the right way. As a former PoliSci major, I don't turn to bad action films for my political discussion, so I'm not sure I care either way what the film makers think. What I can say is I'm glad I wasn't inundated with their political points of view (a la Hunt for Eagle One). The messages I took away are: even if you don't like your president's policies, it's extremely un-American to overthrow him with a coup; and, Jerry Springer would make a great president.
This is worth a good rental, and for Dolph fans a purchase at $10 or less. The Springer factor is great, the action is pretty solid, and Dolph plays a dude named Lance Rockford. What more do you need?
For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402127/
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