With all the “Nazis-Weren’t-All-Bad” movies that have been released lately, it’s kind of nice to explore a “No-They-Really-Were” type of film. For his part, director Edward Zwick has an ability to find unique war stories (Glory, Courage Under Fire) and stories about about brothers in arms both figurative (The Last Samurai) and literal (Legends of the Fall). Defiance combines both these themes into a compelling, though typical narrative, based on the true story of a group of Polish Jews that escaped the Nazi purge and tried to rebuild their lives in the Belarussian forest despite the constant threat of annihilation.

The film is based on the lives of the Bielski Brothers, who according to the film seemed to be the Dukes of Hazzard of World War II Poland. Constant reference is made about how they know the forests of Belarussia well, because occasionally being in trouble with the law, they take refuge there and hide from what I can only assume is Boss Hogg’s Polish equivalent. (Actually, what they’ve done, or have been accused of doing, is never revealed.) The film is a serious piece though and the above stated character detail is interesting, painting the Bielski’s as flawed characters, not saintly do-gooders. As the first refugees arrive in their camp, they even talk about using them as cannon-fodder, to buy them get away time should the Nazis discover them.

Naturally though, the Brothers discover their better selves. At the heart of Defiance is an interesting story about survival, moral choices and the notion of faith being tested. “Every day of freedom is an act of faith,” declares Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craig), his meaning plain that survival on your own terms is never a guarantee, but that shouldn’t stop you from living outside of a role given or a role ordered. But despite the grandiose theme, the way it plays out is rather pedestrian, and kind of predictable. The romance between Tuvia and one his charges played by Alexa Davalos, although part of the true story, seems kind of tacked on and is really only given a lick and promise by the screenplay.

Also predictably, there’s tension between the brothers as Tuvia’s natural leadership of the desperate group of Jews and the rules he imposes on them for their own safety, don’t rest well with the older Zus (Live Schreiber). Instead, Zus signs up with Soviet partisans, fighting Nazis using guerrilla tactics. I wish Zwick had spent some time exploring this plot thread a little more because there are always some interesting things hinted at in the ranks, but their never really looked at except for the mention. But timing is tricky because the film is already quite long; sometimes it’s noticeable and sometimes it’s not. At times it seems that the film doesn’t live up to its ambitions of being a boldly defiant story about cheating fate, although it certainly tries.

Having said all that though, the film isn’t short on action, which is all brilliantly staged and well-paced. Of course, if Zwick couldn’t handle battle scenes after all this time, I’d be profoundly disappointed. And Craig ably leads the cast with his surly gravitas, and steely, blue-eyed glare, which, admittedly, he leans on a little too much at times. Many of the secondary characters were also kind of interesting, but it would have been nice to get a little bit more than background from them. A convenient montage shows how many of the survivors go from accountants and other sorts of paper-pushers to survivalists far too quickly; it would have been interesting to see that change a little bit more clearly, but then again: time restricts.

But the story itself is interesting, and like Valkyrie offers uniquely different perspective on the events of World War II, this time presenting the Jews not as witless victims, but as people willing to fight and not go quietly into the night. It’s an impressive story, that definitely has its moments, but I think it could have been executed a little bit better. Zwick though is a careful and contemplative filmmaker so he does manage to put on a good show, with enough skill to overcome the story’s shortcomings. Defiance is certainly well-crafted, and its end result is far from disappointing, but it left me feeling like there should have been more.