| The Defender | |
|---|---|
The Defender DVD cover |
|
| Directed by | Dolph Lundgren |
| Produced by | Philippe Martinez, Claudine Strasser, Douglas W. Miller |
| Written by | Douglas W. Miller |
| Starring | Dolph Lundgren Jerry Springer Shakara Ledard Thomas Lockyer Caroline Lee-Johnson |
| Music by | Adam Nordén |
| Cinematography | Maxime Alexandre |
| Editing by | Dedan Ouziel Julian Rodd |
| Distributed by | Bauer Martinez Studios |
| Release date(s) | 2004 |
| Running time | 90 min |
| Country | United Kingdom Germany |
| Language | English |
The Defender is a 2004 Action film directed and starring Dolph Lundgren. The film marked Lundgren's directorial debut before he helmed more pictures such as The Mechanik (2005), Missionary Man (2007), Command Performance (2009) and Icarus (2009). The initial director attached, Sidney J. Furie fell ill during pre-production, so the producers asked Lundgren to step up since he had worked closely with Furie and the screenwriter on the project development.
In this action movie, Lance Rockford (Lundgren) must set aside his values and patriotism to protect the life of the world's greatest terrorist so that he does not become a martyr for his cause.
The movie also stars Shakara Ledard as Kaye and Jerry Springer as the President of the United States.
The global war on terror rages on. The United States will not give an inch against terrorists, especially Mohamed Jamar (Geoffrey Burton), who is considered to be the worst of them all. Jamar has been missing for months, but his network continues its functions.
The President (Jerry Springer) stands firm before the world, but behind the scenes, his teams are working to find the final solution. Jamar represents a paradox: he can never be killed, because if he was found dead, he would become an instant martyr.
If caught he must be tried. If he is found guilty he would become a martyr and further inspiration to acts of terror. If acquitted, the policies of the entire western world would be destroyed. So he must remain invisible.
Roberta Jones (Caroline Lee-Johnson), the head of the National Security Agency, is working to ensure he remains invisible, forever. Under the guise of attending an Eastern European conference on Terror in Romania, she attends a secret meeting with Jamar at a secluded hotel outside Bucharest.
No one knows about this meeting, and her goal is to buy his invisibility. Her only companions are her security team of six, headed by her personal bodyguard, Lance Rockford (Dolph Lundgren). They are the best of the best, former military special forces personnel capable of anything.
When they arrive at the hotel for the secret meeting, they are ambushed. No one is supposed to know about the meeting, but someone wants it stopped. They have to fight for their lives against an unknown attacker.
Lance, a man of highest integrity with an impressive record of service for his country, is forced into a situation which challenges his very beliefs.