“Look out termites, it’s squishing time!”

Yeah, so there’s a super-hero movie out now. No, it’s not Kick-Ass with all its blood spurting, foul mouthiness. It’s Defendor, starring Woody Harrelson. Here’s the pitch, according to Wikipedia: “Arthur Poppington is a regular but delusional man who believes that he is a superhero named Defendor. He combs the city streets at night in search of his arch enemy, Captain Industry, befriending a young prostitute in his quest.”

So Woody puts on a costume to be a super-hero, even though he has no super powers. Sound vaguely familiar? But that’s about the only similarity to Kick-Ass. Poppington is more than a little unhinged thanks to a troubled childhood and a mangled conversation with his grandfather who says that “Captains of Industry” (aka drug dealers) killed his mom. It’s a phrase he mistakes for a villain named Captain Industry.

Reviewer Katherine Monk has nothing but praise for Harrelson’s performance. She says, “Using humor without ever compromising the round edge of his character, Harrelson finds the soft heart of our hero, and makes us care about him as he stands before us in each scene.”

Defendor was supposed to be released in theaters here in the US a few months ago, but if it was, it disappeared faster than Lindsay Lohan’s breakfast appletini. Fortunately for all who missed it, it’s now out on DVD.

In addition to Harrelson, the cast includes Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, Elias Koteas, Michael Kelly and Lisa Ray. This Canadian super-hero movie was written and directed by Peter Stebbings. I’m already Netflixing a copy.

[Artwork: publicity photo of Woody Harrelson in Defendor]