Director: Neil Jordan
Writer: Roderick Taylor, Bruce A Taylor, Cynthia Mort (Screenplay) Roderick Taylor, Bruce A Taylor (Story)
Starring: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Nicky Katt, Naveen Andrews, Mary Steenburgen
Plot: A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Brooding Revenge Thriller
Story: The Brave One starts with our radio host Erica Bain (Foster) who loves and knowns the streets of New York, her fiancée David (Andrews) is a doctor and the two plan to get married as soon as possible. The two never seeing too much wrong in their day find themselves victims of a group of thugs who beat David to death and leave Erica fighting for her life.
Once Erica recovers she finds out the truth about what happened to David before having to face the questions from Detectives Mercer (Howard) & Vitale (Katt) as she remains haunted by the events of that night. Worried about her safety Erica purchases her own gun as she starts her own trail of vengeance against anyone who has wronged people as she cleans up the streets she learns that her killing isn’t having the desired affects she would desire.
The Brave One is a revenge thriller that plays into vigilante with revenge. The film follows the victim who doesn’t get the answers needed from the law so she takes it into her own hands. While this isn’t a direct revenge thriller our leading lady finds herself in the chance to kill or be killed before getting into the idea of cleaning up crime work. The film is slightly slow when it comes to getting into the action as it focuses on the effects on Erica dealing with what happened to her. It is a nice spin on what we have seen before but the final act is really exciting.
Actor Review
Jodie Foster: Erica Bain is the victim of a vicious attack from a group of thugs that leaves her fiancée dead and her fighting for her life. Once physically recovered she doesn’t recover mentally as she sets out on her own path of vengeance against the men responsible for her situation and the people leaving others in similar ones. Jodie is great in this role as we see her go through a large change through the film.
Terrence Howard: Detective Mercer is getting tired of all the criminals getting away crimes as he starts to praise the vigilante taking out the criminals as he tries to find legal loopholes. When he starts to become friends with Erica he hints at criminals as he looks to take down a powerful drug lord. Terrence is good in this supporting role as the worn out cop tired of the criminals.
Nicky Katt: Detective Vitale is the partner for Mercer who never full seems as worn out by the legal side of police work as Mercer is. He treats it like a job and nothing more. Nicky is a basic supporting character not really offering much to the rest of the film.
Naveen Andrews: David Kirmani is the fiancée of Erica, he is a doctor and the two plan to be married, when the pair run into a group of thugs they both are left fighting for their lives where David takes the worst of the beatings as he is killed leaving Erica alone in the world. Naveen is good in this small supporting role that is pivotal to the outcome of this film.
Support Cast: The Brave One has a supporting cast that all end up being either side of the law as Erica goes on her clean up mission.
Director Review: Neil Jordan – Neil gives us a good brooding revenge thriller that keeps us on the edge without fully pulling us through.
Crime: The Brave One brings us into the world as a victim gets to witness the crimes and has to make the decision on how to act.
Thriller: The Brave One keeps us on the edge of as we wonder what Erica will get to up next.
Settings: The Brave One uses New York for the setting showing both the good and bad sides of the popular city.
Special Effects: The Brave One uses great effects to show kills being involved.
Suggestion: The Brave One is on to try, if you want a well told revenge thriller this is great but if you are looking for a quick blood filled revenge thriller you will be disappointed. (Try It)
Best Part: Final Kill.
Worst Part: Slightly slow.
Action Scene Of The Film: Final Act.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $70 Millions
Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes
Tagline: How many wrongs to make it right?
Overall: Slow moving thriller that really ends up packing the punches needed
Rating
