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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Defendor-eng-laurel-poster-final-hi_7341.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:Don't pronounce it without the "o". [[BerserkButton He'll get pissed.]]]]
3
4A 2009 film starring Creator/WoodyHarrelson and Creator/KatDennings. Harrelson plays a well-meaning but mentally challenged man who creates the identity of Defendor, a [[NonPoweredCostumedHero costumed superhero]], to fight back against street crime and eventually hunt down "Captain Industry". Advertised as a comedy, but [[NeverTrustATrailer was largely a drama]].
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7!! This film contains examples of:
8* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:Kat's father used to beat her up.]]
9* AndStarring: With Creator/SandraOh and Creator/KatDennings. Also has Special Appearance by Lisa Ray.
10* ApatheticCitizens: Everybody except Arthur. Apathy is a theme in the film, and even during crazy and dangerous situations, the characters, including cops and criminals, seem relatively unfazed.
11* ArchEnemy: "Captain Industry" for Defendor.
12* AssholeVictim: Dooney usually ends up being caught on the wrong side of Defendor's wrath. Later on, [[spoiler:Defendor beats up Kat's father after learning that he beat her, which leads to the FramingDevice of the film]].
13* BalkanBastard: "Captain Industry" AKA Radovan Kristic is a Serbian drug trafficker.
14* BatterUp: Defendor's weapon is a trench club given to him by his war veteran grandfather.
15* BeeBeeGun: Defendor's other weapon are jars filled with wasps.
16* BigBad: The main villain, and the man Arthur believes is "Captain Industry", is Radovan Kristic, a [[BalkanBastard Serbian crimelord]] involved with drugs and prostitution.
17* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:[[TheHeroDies Defendor dies]], but the cartel he was pursuing is captured and brought to justice. Also, Kat finally starts getting her life on track.]]
18* BlackDudeDiesFirst: The one well-dressed henchman [[spoiler: who was actually an undercover cop.]]
19* CantStopTheSignal: The truth about Kristic and Dooney, revealed [[spoiler:after [[TheHeroDies Defendor gets shot]]]] and both get arrested.
20* CheapCostume: Complete with a D-insignia made out of [[DuctTapeForEverything Duct Tape]].
21* CivvieSpandex: Defendor's costume is entirely made of black sweatshirts and pants, while the highlights, including the ''D'' ChestInsignia, are made from masking tapes.
22* DarkIsNotEvil: As Defendor, Arthur is clad primarily in black but is unquestionably TheHero of the story.
23* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:Defendor dies in Kat's arms after being fatally shot.]]
24* DirtyCop: Dooney.
25* DoesNotLikeGuns: Defendor believes that guns are for cowards.
26* DuctTapeForEverything: Defendor's costume involves [[http://gointothemovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/defendor_woodyharrelson2-500x267.jpg quite a bit of it.]]
27* TheDulcineaEffect: Essentially justified, given the way Arthur's mind works.
28* GroinAttack: [[spoiler: Kat ends up shooting Dooney in the nards to [[DamselOutOfDistress escape from him]]]].
29* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Arthur. Also Paul's wife and son.
30* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Defendor is ultimately shot dead by the BigBad]].
31* HeroicBastard: It's implied that Arthur is this.
32* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Arthur believes this of Kat, however much she tries to prove him wrong. Arthur's own mother was also this, being forced to become a prostitute to raise her son before succumbing to drugs.
33* HowWeGotHere: Most of the story is presented this way, with Arthur retelling his efforts to a psychiatrist.
34* ImmuneToBullets: Defendor is shot point-blank with an SMG and ends up surviving due to [[spoiler:the gun being filled with paint bullets]]. Subverted later on with [[spoiler:Radovan, who shoots Defendor with real bullets and ends up putting him down]].
35* InsistentTerminology: It's not "Defender", it's "Defendor".
36* IntergenerationalFriendship: Arthur and Paul's son, Jack, ever since Art saved him from getting hit by a car.
37* {{Mockspiracy}}: "Captain Industry", the alleged SuperVillain that Defendor keeps looking for throughout the film, eventually ending with him believing that the Captain is the leader of the local drug ring. While it is true that drug lords are bad (it's eventually showcased that the reason Defendor started believing the "Captain Industry" thing is because of him overhearing a conversation about the "Captains of Industry"), they are not commanded by a Lex Luthor-esque mastermind. This is just one more example of Defendor's WrongGenreSavvy.
38* MoodWhiplash: And how. A tragicomedy about a ''Film/KickAss''-style street superhero [[spoiler:that ends with him being unceremoniously shot and killed and becoming a martyr]].
39* NiceGuy: Paul, who is Arthur's boss and functionally his caretaker due to the fact that [[spoiler:Arthur saved his son from being hit by a car]].
40* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Arthur's attack on the mob ends up ruining the cops' sting operation when their mole shoots him with non-lethal bullets, thus exposing himself to the boss.]]
41* NoMereWindmill: The protagonist appears to be a lunatic going up against an imaginary supervillain called "Captain Industry". Defendor may or may not actually believe this, but in either case, the "Captains of Industry" is actually a metaphor for the very real threat of drug lords — the very villains that Defendor has been fighting all along.
42* NonHumanSidekick: Defendor's bees to some extent.
43* ParentalAbandonment: Arthur's MissingMom died from overdose while it isn't mentioned what exactly happened to his DisappearedDad.
44* ProtagonistTitle: Defendor is the titular superhero.
45* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Captain Fairbanks and Dr. Park, who are generally understanding and patient with Arthur. The former even takes his tip seriously at the end, [[spoiler:which leads to him catching Radovan]].
46* ScaryBlackMan: One of Radovan's henchmen is a black guy who quickly defeats Defendor. [[spoiler:However, he's actually TheMole for the cops, who accidentally outs himself when he spares Defendor and is killed by Radovan as a result.]]
47* SuperZeroes: Defendor is not a particularly effective crimefighter and tends not to fare well in fights. He can certainly catch his enemies off-guard with marbles and wasps, but he usually ends up losing any straightforward fight he gets into due to his enemies outnumbering him or simply being better armed/skilled.
48* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Defendor's WrongGenreSavvy leads to him running around thinking he is Batman (with dollar-store budget). His equipment is woefully useless against angry men with machine guns, [[spoiler:and it [[TheHeroDies eventually gets him killed]].]]
49* TrailersAlwaysLie: The trailers make it seem as if the movie is a super-hero comedy, when it's actually a drama.
50* VigilanteMan: Averted. Defendor may try to beat up the bad guys and throw jars of wasps at them, he never actually tries to kill anyone.
51* WindmillCrusader: Played with, and ''maybe'' [[NoMereWindmill averted]]. Defendor may be completely wrong about the person who is the BigBad, but he is nevertheless an evil that must be stopped, has enough connections and men with guns supporting him to feel like a Lex Luthor-esque villain, and maybe [[spoiler:the leader is the man who killed Defendor's mother]].
52* WrongGenreSavvy: Defendor seems to think that he's in a light-hearted superhero popcorn flick. Too bad he's actually in a dark superhero movie. Downplayed though, in that he's at least right that he's in a superhero movie.
53* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Mother]]: Part of Defendor's motivation, though it's probably just a delusion. [[spoiler:When he mentions his mother's name to the main antagonist, he actually ''does'' backtrack and gives it some thought, though he's quickly defeated before he can answer, so it's possible he did actually kill her.]]

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