The Brave One

I liked this one a lot. Its a revenge thriller or remake I suppose of the Charles Bronson's Death Wish series of the 70's. Jodie Foster takes the lead here and I enjoyed seeing a woman in the role of vigilante, refusing to be a victim and fighting back.

Foster can be a bit much at times but she was perfect for this role setting out on a mission of revenge after a brutal attack (it's really rough) leaves her fiancé dead and 'Erica' unable to move past the tragedy. Eventually she buys a gun and begins prowling the city streets at night to track down the men she holds responsible. Foster does a good job here with the conflicted emotions and I have to admit to yelling "yes" a couple times after she smoked one of the bad guys.

I also really enjoyed Terence Howard's detective character, the cat and mouse game between him and Foster is well done and suspenseful. Naveen Andrews has a small role here as the boyfriend, and the ending with the dog, jeez for some reason that almost had me in tears. It's the dogs that seem to get me every time. 03.13

this movie was much better than i had hoped or expected it to be.it basically turns the vigilante genre on its head,and has a female character as the vigilante.like any vigilante movie,it certainly poses tough questions.it contains some terrific performances in it's two lead characters,Jodi Foster as the vigilante,and Terrance Howard as the cop on her trail.both are outstanding and very credible in their respective roles.Foster really makes you sympathetic to her character and rooting for her,even though you probably shouldn't.Howard's character is also sympathetic,because he has mixed feelings,but has to follow the law.he comes off very convincingly as someone who is conflicted.the movie is well paced and appropriately dark.even before the end of the movie,i thought it was well done,but the ending caught me totally off guard.it elevated the movie a notch.for me,The Brave One is a 9/10

"I think someone should just take this city and just... just flush it down the f***in' toilet", says Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), in "Taxi Driver". He wants to protect the young prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) from some pigs, and give her a better future. 31 years later, Iris is a popular radio host whose fiancé (Naveen Andrews) is killed in a random attack. She decides to avenge him, and other helpless people, with her own hands.

If not for Jodie Foster's presence, I probably wouldn't bother watching "The Brave One" (even though I admire most of Neil Jordan's films). It's easy to call this a morally sick movie, because that's what is... but it's not sicker than any other bloody action thriller out there. Watching a "fragile" woman like Foster becoming Charles Bronson in skirts is both entertaining and (questionably) gratifying. Who's never fantasized: what if I could just kill all the scum around me? Like "Falling Down" and so many other flicks, "The Brave One" appeals to our lower instincts, and - mildly - makes us imagine what would we do in Jodie's shoes, and how "simple and satisfying" it'd be just to kill them all. That'd be the easiest, quickest 'solution' to our nightmares, and on a second look, that's not as sick as we'd think... just desperate and cathartic.

Far from being a great movie or intellectually instigating as, say, "Dogville", "The Brave One" is worth seeing for Jodie's performance and for its unapologetic badassery in times of false, excessive morality. 6.5/10.

So what would it take to turn a happy 30-something New Yorker, in love with her city and her fiancée, into a cold blooded murderer? How about being attacked and brutally beaten in Central Park by a gang of thugs, then waking up in hospital only to find out that the love of your life has been buried while you were in a three week long coma.

The Brave One takes you on a journey of what it means to loose everything, to become a shadow of yourself, propelled by a very strong performance by Jodi Foster as Erica Bain. We watch as she finds herself crippled by fear, unable to step over the threshold between her home and the city she once felt safe in, now turned against her. When she does find the strength to leave, she's caught up in a convenience store shooting and surprises herself by killing the attacker. And so begins her mission to take the law into her own hands, killing those who abuse, taunt and betray, yet always remaining the victim of violence On the way, she catches the attention of NYPD Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard), the lead investigator in what becomes known as the "vigilante killings". They form a close bond, though the basis of it is not always clear. It's a pity that so much of the film's focus is on the murders, preventing the audience from exploring Erica's character deeper. You wonder why she has no friends and what her logic is for not seeking help when she is clearly loosing her mind. However, what the narrative may lack depth and dimension is balanced out by the cinematography, most notably the artful juxtaposition of tender love making and gory violence to signify her pain. And while the ending may feel like somewhat of an anti-climax after spending the past two hours jumping out of your seat, it never the less brings the journey satisfyingly full-circle.

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I would agree with those who say that Jodi Foster is the redeeming factor in this film. I remember how much fun it was to pull for Charles Bronson in those Death Wish things (the early one's; not the silly sequels). How can one not empathize with her character. The thing is that it's easy for Hollywood to appeal to our baser instincts. This does and it wouldn't sustain long term interest if it was just anyone portraying the central figure. Of course, there are factors to face, like "if you set foot on the street, is there routinely someone out there that is just waiting for you"? But the cheap thrills are more than compensated for by Foster's masterful acting style and her incredible demeanor. While it stretches the bounds of credibility, once I set that aside, I was able to enjoy the ride. It's certainly cathartic if nothing else.