MovieChat Forums > Defendor (2010) Discussion > Was it the undercover cops fault that......

Was it the undercover cops fault that....(SPOILERS)

posted 15 years ago by abs-ghosh
9 replies | jump to latest

Me and my buddy got into this discussion about if it was really the undercover cop's fault for leading Arthur to think the bullets can't hurt him and hence his eventual death at the end cause he thinks bullets cannot hurt him.

Reasons:

His strategy before and after getting shot by the rubber bullets was different. I recall he was more stealthy and strategic taking down Dooney (can't remember his name) and general confrontation with dudes with guns. He seemed a bit more head on at the second half after he realizes that the bullets can't hurt him.

He also keeps saying "Guns don't hurt me" a lot at the second half

(This is a weak one) Also the look on his face once he got shot by the main bad guy at the end. I know it can be argued that its a look of pain but it seemed more like a frozen realization before he went down.

[–] trendon 15 years ago

I don't think there is any discussion to be had on whether or not his attitude changed after the first "shooting". However, I don't think you can blame the cop as he gave him two chances.

[–] pierreb1978-1 15 years ago

If you mean "fault" as "the reason why" Defendor thinks he's bulletproof then yes, most definitly. He actually says that bullets bounce off from him before the last fight.

I found the undercover cop pretty stupid to stick around with the bikers after that because they'd obviously find out that Defendor survived and was only hit by rubber bullets!

[–] lovedawn 15 years ago

Surely it's as much Kat's fault for sending Defendor after those guys in the first place? Didn't anyone who treated him at the Hospital think to tell him either? Or his friend Paul, who knew him better than most?

Having said, I doubt he'd have listened anyway!

Pretty good film.

lovedawn - vitriolic ranting at its laziest

[–] whraglyn-2 15 years ago

Yah, it seems clear to me that Defendor made a reasonable deduction after getting shot by what he never knew were rubber bullets.
The expression Woody used on getting hit at the end did seem to me to convey Defendor's surprise, shock, and confusion at the real bullet hits.
Agree in whole with all above comments supporting op's premise.
Seems clear the creators intended this point as a major insight into Defendor's mind and heart.
Cheers!

[–] The-Kurgan 15 years ago

Yeppers, it's all fairly clear, but I'd like to expand the "blame" argument a bit.

"Defendor," by getting himself involved in the situation (since he wasn't aware of the undercover op), effectively got the cops killed, since the undercover had no choice at that point but to shoot him with the fake bullets and pray everything worked out. On the other hand, one could then lay blame on whomever was running the "sting," for not pulling their man out after that, since it was obvious someone would likely hear about the "weirdo" surviving with no bullet wounds, which would expose the undercover(s).

As for his "invulnerability" to bullets, that came about as a result of his escape from the hospital. Since he boogied immediately after waking up, nobody got the chance to tell him what had actually happened. Later, once he'd been found and arrested, it never occurred to anyone to explain it to him (the focus was on new events by then). Oops. (And remember, at that point in time, the shrink's job was to evaluate him; it wasn't a typical "make him better" type of session. That sort of dialogue wouldn't have come until later when he was in care.)

I do wonder why Kat didn't say anything towards the end, though. If she really wanted to stop him, or at least make him more cautious, she should have changed her argument. Instead of just denying his claim regarding the bullets, she should have come out and told him, "those were fake bullets you got shot with." Not exactly a mouthful or tongue-twister, there. :)

[–] dutchMasta4 15 years ago

That's why she ran for him at the end isn't it? She's always on drugs, I guess she was just a bit slow to pick up on that. After all, she was just about to take a hit before realising that and saying, "oh my god, what have I done?"

Perhaps her initial impression was that he was just trying to be heroic by saying that bullets won't hurt him rather than the fact that he might not be able to tell that he was hit by rubber bullets and the guy who shot him was an undercover cop.

[–] hillbillyfisherman 15 years ago

You could really throw the blame at anyone in this movie, they continually let him go out in the world to "fight crime" I'd say Kat was the most at fault because she just fed him his desires even though she knew they were self destructive. She told him where to find this extremely dangerous man, and then allowed Defendor to go to the final stand in the end. blame as much as you want on drugs she should have tried to put a stop to it way in the beginning.

"Is it dead?"-David Della Rocco

[–] The-Kurgan 15 years ago

That's why she ran for him at the end isn't it? She's always on drugs, I guess she was just a bit slow to pick up on that. After all, she was just about to take a hit before realising that and saying, "oh my god, what have I done?"

Now that is a very good possibility that would allow things to make much more sense. I'd overlooked that angle. Well spotted.

[–] 15 years ago

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