The Brave One [Blu-ray]
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Movie Reviews of The Brave One [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: When good liberals go bad: "Death Wish" for the 21st century
Summary: 4 Stars
Jodie Foster's Erica Bain is the host of a smug, NPR-type radio program. She lives in New York, which she bills as the "safest large city in the world." After her boyfriend is killed and she is beaten almost to death while walking in the park at night (New York's still not *that* safe!), she and a new friend, Mr. Nine-millimeter,* embark on a voyage of self discovery, and together they explode the myth that it's only conservatives who love gunning down the bad guys.
Like her predecessor Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey, Ms Bain's killing spree is tasteful and politically correct. She kills a properly diverse group of thugs, pervs, wife-beaters and drug-runners. Also like "Death Wish," we know our lead character is really a good person at heart, because of the emotional trauma she goes through after gunning down each criminal. The Brave One is definitely a worthy update to the classic original.
* Ripped off from Pulp Fiction.
Movie Review: the silance of nell
Summary: 4 Stars
i feel her top 3 movies are silance of lambs, the brave one, nell. part of this, not all, but parts reminded me of charlese therem in moster boht of them wer on a killing srpee when it started out a self difene or in this case she watned justic one the one who kiled her man but she was on killing sree like charlese therem was, iliked this more than kevin bacons death sentance, i didnt dis like that just i liked this one better. i liked kevin costners mr brooks but still liked this better. not movie of year but i fele she shold of been at least nomited for acting or somethingMovie Review: Death Wish Meets Taxi Driver
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed The Brave One more than I thought I would. The plot is familiar, but the acting really elevates it above the average film it is. Jodie Foster turns in her best performance in quite some time and Terrence Howards is very good as well. It took me a while to get into the film, but once it got a hold of me it didn't let go. You will feel as abused as Jodie Foster's character by the time the credits role. A worthy DVD rental for sure, but you may want to pass seeing it in theaters.
3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars
Movie Review: I was taken by surprise!
Summary: 4 Stars
I must say that this was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time!! Jody Foster and Terrance Howard, both outstanding actors... were fabulous. Although this movie contained a lot of graphic violence...it would not have had the same impact with out it. This is one of the rare movies that had the whole theater reacting...laughing, crying and cheering. More than worth the price of admission!Movie Review: implausible but effective revenge melodrama
Summary: 3 Stars
***1/2
Call it the Sword of Damocles Syndrome of filmmaking, but anytime characters seem just a little too happy at the beginning of a movie we know that some unspeakable catastrophe is just waiting to befall them.
In the case of Erica Bain and David Kirmani, that event is catastrophic indeed. Erica and David are a deliriously contented couple eagerly making plans for their upcoming marriage. One night, while walking their dog in Central Park, the two are attacked by a gang of hooligans who kill David and leave Erica beaten, battered and clinging to life in a weeks-long coma. When she wakes up, Erica has trouble coming to terms with the terror brought on by what has happened to her and buys herself an illegal firearm, initially as a means of protecting herself from any future assault. Quickly, however, she finds another use for the weapon, namely to go roaming around town eliminating any threatening malefactors unfortunate enough to wander across her path.
It's impossible to discuss "The Brave One" without making at least a passing reference to 1974`s "Death Wish," the archetype for all those urban vigilante melodramas that became so popular in the 1970's and 1980's. Erica pretty much fits the mold of those earlier antihero figures (despite the one obvious difference that she is a woman), although the writers - Roderick Taylor, Bruce A. Taylor and Cynthia Mort - and director Neil Jordan bring an added psychological dimension to the character (it might be nothing more than pop psychology, for all we know, but at least it's something). The filmmakers work hard at trying to explore Erica's motives for what she's doing, even if one of the themes of the movie seems to be that there may not BE any real explanation for her actions. Erica is a woman suffering the ravages of not only the grief of losing her fiance, but the fear, paranoia and psychological dislocation that result from violent trauma. Erica - who hosts a radio talk show whose theme seems to be reflections on city living - keeps telling both us and her audience that she is no longer the same person she was before the incident and that she will never be that person again.
Like "Death Wish," "The Brave One" is clearly more of a dark urban fantasy than a work of stark documentary-style realism. The filmmakers never make the logistics of Erica's killing spree all that convincing, but neither do they descend to the level of cheap exploitative rabblerousing one might expect from such a premise. The climax is not entirely plausible given the nature of one of the characters, but at least it avoids the easy, pro-law-and-order cliché it appears at first glance to be on its way to embracing.
As Erica, Jodie Foster gets to play the Travis Bickle character this time around (though she is more righteous and considerably less unbalanced than her "Taxi Driver" predecessor), purging the city of bad guys and making the streets once again safe for decent, law-abiding citizens. Her gun-toting Angel of Vengeance character may be a bit of a stereotype at this point, but Foster imbues her with enough humanity and depth to make her interesting. The pain and torment Erica is feeling is often made palpable for the audience through Foster's multi-layered, emotionally complex performance. She gets strong support from Terrance Howard, who does stellar work as the compassionate homicide detective assigned to investigate the killings, as well as from Naveen Andrews ("Lost") and Mary Steenburgen in smaller but nevertheless crucial roles.
As a "study of violence," "The Brave One" pretty much leaves it up to the viewers to sift through and sort out their own complex feelings on the subject. The movie neither glorifies nor condemns, neither endorses nor berates Erica for her actions. It tries to understand her, but it doesn't feel called upon to judge her. The filmmakers may, indeed, be copping out by not putting forth a clear message on the topic, but this noncommittal approach actually makes the movie more thoughtful and authentic. Some may be enraged by the film, while others may be enthralled by it. But few will have no strong opinion on "The Brave One" one way or the other - and that's what makes movie watching ultimately worthwhile.