Absolutely Fantastic

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

movie was OK-- People seem to either LOVE it or have never heard of it.I didn't love it--i actually thought it was pretty average---but its not a bad watch by any means either. (kinda reminded me of The Substitute actually) Jan Michael Vincent is very Patrick Swayze in this movie. (looks like, sounds like, acts like) This could've been a movie with Patrick Swayze if it was made a decade later.Danny Aiello is fun to see here tho---love the sequence in which he and Jan Michael beat the crap out of the gang leader's car towards the end. (very Mystery Men of them!) If you ever wanna see how gritty NYC was before it got outrageously expensive and overly hipster--you should definitely check this out tho. One of the best things about seeing it was that there was a Q and A with one of the co-stars/writers of the film and he said the studio kept telling him and the cast and crew not too wander too far away from the set when they were shooting at night---otherwise they'd encounter the real version of these guys! (dig that subway station where the gang beats up Jan Michael at the beginning of the film tho--you'd never really think of a subway station as being particularly clean or dirty--cause its the subway--its always gonna be dirty no matter what! but its sparkling clean today compared to how it was back then---and you can see that for yourself here in this movie!) Art Carney is always welcome in my neighborhood tho. (i can't believe young gang-bangers especially in NYC wouldn't recognize Art Carney/Ed Norton---The Honeymooners ran every single night at 11 30 in NYC for years and years and years on a local station---in the early 80's there's no way they wouldn't know of him--even if this is fiction and Art Carney is much older then he was when he was Ed Norton! God help me I will never forgive that actor for having the same name as the sidekick on the honeymooners! its just not right that every time someone mentions Art Carney---the actor Ed Norton has to spring to mind and i gotta specify no not Ed Norton the actor--I mean Ed Norton the character!)

This just aired on the ENCORE ACTION channel recently. This is a very entertaining NYC flick - and pretty action filled considering it is PG! Jan Michael Vincent is at his best as a reluctant action hero who finally has enough of a Puerto-Rican gang in a Italian NYC neighborhood. Jan is one of my favorite actors, and he effortlessly pulls off this character with believability and heart. And looks sexy doing it, too. His love interest is very sweet in this movie, as is the orphan kid he 'adopts' along the way. The bad gang leader is very entertaining - this guy loves hats! the gang looks like they dressed up to partake in Michael Jackson's Beat It Video! Best part of this movie is the Jan-Michael shower scene - that's all I have to say.

This entertaining but often overlooked film stars Jan-Michael Vincent as a seaman who must temporarily reside on the tough, crime-filled and gang-infested streets of New York, where he is persuaded by fearful residents to join them in their war against "The Souls," a local Puerto Rican gang led by Angel Cruz (played by the underrated Rudy Ramos, who would later work on "Quicksilver" (1985) with Kevin Bacon). "Defiance" was filmed mostly in New York's East Village (specifically on 12th Street between Avenue A and B) at a time when street gangs did in fact control that particular area of Lower Manhattan. This film brings to mind the highly controversial release "The Warriors" (1979), about a group of young fighters framed by a rival gang. Director John Flynn is dead on with the emotional aspect of the film, capturing the heart-wrenching struggle between good and evil, the romance between Tommy (Vincent) and Marsha (Theresa Saldana) and the brutal and poignant deaths of two characters - Whacko (Lenny Montana, who played Luca Brasi in "The Godfather" (1972)) and Abe (Art Carney). Highly recommended for cult film enthusiasts. I would love to see a DVD edition in the near future by MGM/UA (formerly Orion).

Jan Michael Vincent steps into Charles Bronson Territory in this great Exploitation Masterpiece. Vincent plays a merchant Marine who moves to the South Bronx and Ends up mixing it up with a vicious Puerto Rican gang. Led by the Immortal Rudy Ramos who plays the gangleader "Angel" who plays the thug with just the right amount of street punk-aristocratic flair that every street gang leader should exhibit. Ramos & Screenwriter Tom Donnelly would team up in the Kevin Bacon Classic "Quicksilver", where Ramos plays the villainous Gypsy in that one. Unfortunately, the Tom Donnelly/Ramos collaboration dries up by the time Donnelly helms "Blindsided". Getting back to "Defiance", The guy who played Luca Brasse in the Godfather plays an Ex-boxer called Wacko ( Don't ask me who came up with that name.) Art Carney plays a jewish Grocery store Owner....Danny Aielo also> embarrases himself in this one.....And if you look Closely , you'll find the Guy who plays Paulie Walnuts on the Sopranos. If you like this film check out "Quicksilver".