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At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

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.

Jan-Michael Vincent who usually stars in rural setting films either western or modern goes to the mean streets of the Lower East Side of New York for Defiance. But the plot for Defiance could have come from any number of B westerns back in the day.Vincent is a seaman who's suspended from the union and anxious to get back to sea. While adrift on land, he takes an apartment on the Lower East Side where he gets involved in the local neighborhood struggles with a gang that's terrorizing the place. The film plays like the James Stewart western, The Far Country where the new town of Klondike miners look to him for leadership against the gang headed by John McIntire. Vincent of course sees himself as an outsider and in point of fact he really is. In fact with his All American boy looks, he's definitely an outsider in the very ethnic Lower East Side.Most of all until the end Vincent disappoints Theresa Saldana who's a nice Jewish girl who'd like to get a little something going with him, but not if he won't protect the neighborhood.Art Carney plays the local delicatessen owner and Danny Aiello is a neighborhood tough from bygone days. The gang leader, truly a despicable character is played by Rudy Ramos, his is the grittiest and best part in the film.This 'western' was shot on the Lower East Side, I recognized some of the area myself. It does give it a nice feel and a lot more realistic than the Lower East Side of Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall. Still it's really an average western on the mean streets of New York.

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.

The classic western hero is a lone stranger who rides into a town terrorized by a gang of ruthless ruffians. The townspeople let these ruffians prey on them because they are either too weak or too cowardly to drive them out.Meanwhile, the hoer is in the town out of some necessity. He prefers to mind his own business and look the other way. He is "just passing through" and doesn't plan to get entangled in the woes of others. Someway or somehow, however, the townspeople's fight becomes his fight, and he must stand up to the predators.When you think of this classic western hero, movies like George Stevens' "Shane" with Alan Ladd or John Sturges' "Bad Day at Black Rock" with Spencer Tracy come to mind. Indeed, westerns classics or otherwise are not being made in the numbers that they used to appear in on the silver screen. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean the classic western hero has vanished. He is alive, well and kicking ass in John Flynn's "Defiance" with Jan-Michael Vincent. "Defiance" is one of the few decent movies—along with Michael Winner's "The Mechanic"—that Vincent made before he destroyed his life with alcohol, narcotics, and various other forms of abuse.The setting of "Defiance" is not the old West. Instead, this tale of urban terror is set in the east side slums of contemporary New York City. The hero Tom Gamble, played with good natured but stalwart gusto by Vincent neither carries a six-gun nor rides a horse.Gamble is a footloose mariner laid over in town following his six-month suspension by his union for brawling. He is "just passing through" and he is eagerly awaiting the next ship out of town. The first ship is bound for South America, but he has to learn Spanish before he can get hired onto it.Gamble rents a cheap apartment and spends his time studying Spanish and drinking beer. Before long he gang that roans the neighborhood—they call themselves 'The Souls'—take an interest in the stranger.The Souls attack a young boy that Gamble has befriended, rob a bingo game, and murder a retired boxing champ. Along the way, they manage to beat up Tom Gamble, too. But Gamble gets back on his feet and goes after these thugs.The screenplay by producer Thomas Michael Donnelly is predictable, strictly a formula driven revenge actioneer. It appears as if Donnelly culled memorable scenes from "The Magnificent Seven," "Death Wish," "Billy Jack," and "High Noon" to make up his script.Imitative though it may be, "Defiance" is definitely a superior effort. There are no car chases or shoot-outs. It is knives, fists, and Louisville sluggers. The dialogue sounds realistic and the characters are well-rounded by both Donnelly's script and a talented cast.John Flynn, who directed "Defiance," has called the shots of several minor masterpieces such as "The Sergeant" with Rod Steiger, "The Outfit" with Robert Duvall, and "Rolling Thunder" with William Devane. Flynn specializes in tough, realistic, little action epics that recall the studio-bound James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart thrillers that Warner Brothers ground out in the 1930s and 1940s. Flynn crafts his movies with both economy and imagination. "Defiance" qualified as Flynn's best film when he came out in 1980 and a sleeper, too. Flynn has a knack for creating atmospheric situations and staging exciting rough & tumble fights that put to good use in "Defiance." He builds the action to a pressure cooker climax that explodes in a rousing finale. There isn't a slack moment in this fast-paced melodrama that has it share of humorous interludes.Jan Michael Vincent delivers his finest, most mature performance. Although he clenches his jaws and knuckles his fists, he never plays Tom Gamble as a muscle-bound moron. As Gamble, he is a modest, ordinary hombre who stand up for what he believes in and rejects any phony claims to being a hero.Art Carney is featured in a small role as a Jewish storekeeper who rebels against The Souls and gets severely beaten for his defiance. Rudy Ramos nearly steals the movie as the kingpin villain who heads up The Souls.Altogether, "Defiance" is a little movie. There is nothing pretentious about it. Moreover, it is not profane, lewd, or gratuitous. The ending is happy, and the theme of the community that rejuvenates itself is inspiring without being dripping with too much sentiment.