Defiance

Schreiber and Craig make a well-matched pair of bulls. Schreiber's volatility is a nice foil to the taciturn intelligence that makes Craig such a great Bond.

Zwick's limitations as an action director seem linked to a troubled conscience: he seems conscious of a need to entertain, but worried that his audience will take too much pleasure in the spectacle of vengeance.

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

It's understandable and laudable that they desire not to sensationalize the Bielskis, and they've made a worthy film. But their understated approach makes the struggle seem less urgent than it must surely have been.

Zwick is ardently devoted to entertainment value, even if it means sacrificing the dignity of his otherwise stimulating story.

It doesn’t take many risks and it never strays too far from the more conventional survival movie path. But it’s a very well made film that captures the look and tone of the period.

Every minute that the cast and crew shot Defiance on location in Lithuania was worth it.

Defiance survives its sometimes pedestrian tone and personality due to a serious and honest attitude towards its principal subject matter.