Rating: R
Starring:
Jodie Foster as Erica Bain
Terrence Howard as Detective Mercer
Nicky Katt as Detective Vitale
Naveen Andrews as David Kirmani
Mary Steenburgen as Carol
Ene Oloja as Josai
Luis Da Silva Jr. as Lee
Blaze Foster as Cash
Rafael Sardina as Reed
Jane Adams as Nicole
Gordon MacDonald as Murrow
Zöe Kravitz as Chloe
John Magaro as Ethan
Victor Colicchio as Cutler
Special Features:
I Walk The City: Director Neil Jordan crafts a movie that pays homage to the vigilante film genre – and turns it on its head
Intimate and moving additional scenes
Other Info:
Widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
French and Spanish Language
French and Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 122 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“‘Why don’t they stop me?’ Eric Bain wonders. Bain, a popular N.Y radio host, watched her fiancé die and nearly lost her own life to a vicious, random attack. Now she discovers a stranger within herself, an armed wanderer in the urban night, out for vengeance and at war with her own soul. Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster, as Erica, joins Oscar nominee Terrence Howard, as a determined cop hot on her trail. Erica’s future is uncertain, but one thing is not: ‘The Brave One’ is a high- tension thriller that packs a visceral and emotional punch.”
“The Brave One” is rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality.
Mini-Review:
“The Brave One” is one of those films that are completely ruined by the trailer. If you saw the trailer or the commercials, then you know Jodie Foster’s character is attacked and her fiancé is killed. You know she buys a gun. You know she confronts one of her attackers and says, “I want my dog back!” Blam! Guess what? That’s pretty much the plot of the whole film. In fact, the dog scene happens in the last 5 10 minutes, so everything leading up to that inevitable confrontation is pretty much fluff. The only question remaining is whether or not her character survives the encounter, and even that is somewhat unsatisfying. To get to that point you have to endure over an hour and a half of Foster’s character agonizing over stuff either being afraid of leaving her house or being afraid of becoming addicted to dishing out vigilante justice. The scenes with Terrence Howard pretty much just break up Foster’s scenes.
“The Brave One” is kind of “The Punisher” with a female. When her loved one is brutally killed in a park, she picks up a gun and takes matters into her own hands. While she doesn’t paint a skull on her chest and she agonizes a bit more about killing the bad guys than Frank Castle does, the plot is basically the same. It does become a bit comical as Foster accidentally runs into one dangerous situation after another. It makes New York look like it offers a homicidal maniac lurking around every corner.
In short, “The Brave One” becomes tiresome because it is predictable and it takes over 2 hours to come to its predetermined conclusion. The only remaining question is whether or not Terrence Howard’s character is going to bust Foster or fall in love with her, and the final answer seems like the Hollywood way out.
I’d really only recommend “The Brave One” to big fans of Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard. Everyone else can probably watch the trailer and the last 5 minutes of the movie and be satisfied.
Among the bonus features are your standard “making of” featurette and a few additional scenes. One shows Foster’s friend taking her to a self defense class. A couple show more of Terrence Howard’s character with his ex-wife.
