Defiance - 5 stars out of 10

Defiance - 5 stars out of 10

I watched "Defiance" a year ago and yet, it was so forgettable that upon rewatching, it merely provided a weak sense of familiarity.  I acknowledge that this is an incredible true story and that it was well-acted, but it drags on so slowly that my mind wanders.  I suppose that all of the slow character development is necessary for the last twenty minutes to be so poignant, but I could be content watching the wedding scene and the ending then calling it a day.  Even after all of the character development, I don't feel particularly attached to the characters when they died.  I blame the often boring pace of the film on the script, as the cast as a whole brought the emotions necessary for this story but it still falls flat.  I enjoyed the performances by Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber (which made the ending scene particularly moving) but again, a good story and good acting with a poor script does not equal a good film.  All of the negativity aside, it is amazing that these hunted actually survived in the woods, and even more that these events occured less than a century ago.  I am glad that the story of the Bielski's can be preserved forever, particularly because they never sought recognition for the impact that they left on thousands.