Defendor

Defendor is a 2009 Canadian-American superhero comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Stebbings in his directorial debut.

It stars Woody Harrelson as Arthur Poppington, a regular man who adopts a superhero persona named Defendor, with Elias Koteas, Michael Kelly, Sandra Oh and Kat Dennings in supporting roles.

Dr. Park, a psychiatrist, is interviewing Arthur Poppington, a vigilante known as "Defendor", about his assault of a dry cleaning business owner.

After he is brutally beaten by Dooney's friends, she helps him recover and informs him that Captain Industry's real name is Radovan Kristic.

In a flashback it is revealed that Arthur's grandfather, in order to spare him pain as a child, metaphorically blamed his mother's death on the "captains of industry".

A memorial service is held for Defendor under a spray paint mural that was drawn in his honor, which is attended by Park and her daughter.

[9] Stebbings obtained about one quarter of the film's C$4 million budget from Telefilm Canada and "turn[ed] over stones to find the rest".

[4] Though principal photography was scheduled to take place from November 21 through December 17, 2008,[8] it was delayed until mid-January 2009 and continued through the end of January.

[8] Specific filming locations included the Hamilton City Centre,[11] Humber River Regional Hospital and a Toronto warehouse.

[13] Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group acquired the distribution rights to the film in the United States and most of Asia, Europe and South America.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Defendor's reach occasionally exceeds its grasp, but this unique take on the superhero genre is held together by Woody Harrelson's solid performance.

"[19] Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star wrote writer/director Stebbings "fills Defendor with humorous bits, comic treats dropped in quickly and without fanfare", while David Germain of the Associated Press faults the film for its "inconsistent tone".