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The Brave One

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The Brave One (2007)

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Reviews Counted:178

Fresh:77

Rotten:101

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: Magnetic by between Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard can't quite compensate for The Brave One's problematic and unconvincing eye-for-an-eye moral.

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Justice, Thriller, New York City, Revenge, Theatrical Release

US Box Office: $36,765,734

Synopsis: For Erica Bain (Jodie Foster), the streets of New York are both her home and her livelihood. She shares the sounds and the stories of her beloved city with her radio audience as the host of the... For Erica Bain (Jodie Foster), the streets of New York are both her home and her livelihood. She shares the sounds and the stories of her beloved city with her radio audience as the host of the show "Street Walk." At night, she goes home to the love of her life, her fiance David Kirmani (Naveen Andrews). But everything Erica knows and loves is ripped from her on one terrible night when she and David are ambushed in a random, vicious attack that leaves David dead and Erica close to it. Though Erica's broken body heals, deeper wounds remain--the devastation of losing David and, even more overwhelming, a suffocating fear that haunts her every step. The city streets she had once loved to roam, even places that had been warm and familiar, now feel strange and threatening. When the fear finally becomes too much to bear, Erica makes a fateful decision to arm herself against it. The gun in her hand becomes a tangible way to protect herself from an intangible enemy...or so she thinks. The first time she shoots someone, it is kill or be killed. The second time is also in self-defense...or did she make a choice not to take herself out of harm's way? The fear that had once paralyzed her has been replaced by something else...something that drives her to reclaim the life that was taken from her that night...something that Erica does not even recognize in herself. Stories of an anonymous vigilante grip the city, and NYPD detective Sean Mercer (Terrence Howard) becomes increasingly determined to track down the killer. As he pieces together the clues, the evidence begins to point not to a guy with a gun...but a woman with a grudge. With Mercer closing in and her own conscience trying her, Erica must decide whether her quest for some form of justice, and even vengeance, is truly the right path, or if she has become the very thing she is hunting. Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster ("The Silence of the Lambs," "The Accused") and Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard ("Hustle & Flow," "Crash") star in "The Brave One." The film is directed by Academy Award winner Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game") and produced by Joel Silver ("The Matrix" trilogy, "V For Vendetta") and Susan Downey ("Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang"). The main cast also includes Naveen Andrews (TV's "Lost," "The English Patient") as David, Erica's fiance; Nicky Katt ("Grindhouse") as Mercer's partner, Detective Vitale; and Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen ("Melvin and Howard") as Carol, Erica's boss at the radio station. Jordan directed "The Brave One" from a screenplay by Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor and Cynthia Mort, story by Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor. Herbert W. Gains, Jodie Foster, Dana Goldberg and Bruce Berman served as executive producers. The behind-the-scenes creative team included Oscar-winning director of photography Philippe Rousselot ("A River Runs Through It"), marking his fourth collaboration with Jordan, production designer Kristi Zea ("The Departed"), Jordan's longtime editor Tony Lawson ("Michael Collins," "The End of the Affair"), costume designer Catherine Thomas ("Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2") and Oscar-nominated composer Dario Marianelli ("Pride & Prejudice"). "The Brave One" is a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, of a Silver Pictures Production. "The Brave One" has been rated R by the MPAA for strong violence, language and some sexuality. --© Warner Bros [More]

Starring: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews, Nicky Katt

Starring: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews, Nicky Katt, Mary Steenburgen

Director: Neil Jordan

Director: Neil Jordan
Screenwriter: Roderick Taylor, Bruce A. Taylor, Cynthia Mort
Story: Roderick Taylor, Bruce A. Taylor
Producer: Joel Silver, Susan Downey
Composer: Dario Marianelli
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for The Brave One

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
10/19/07
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Powerful themes, intense emotions and a faultless performance from Jodie Foster are central to Neil Jordan's film, yet I have a fundamental problem with the story's morals, condoning violence, revenge and the protagonist taking the law into her own hands

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/05/07
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A bold and powerful thriller

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
09/12/07
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

[Despite some flaws,] I do recommend the movie - for Foster's stunning performance and for the story's willingness to explore the honest-to-goodness implications of violence.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
09/18/07
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Too unpleasantly stern to be exploitation, and too bloodthirsty to be drama.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
09/21/07
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

The Brave One might have been honest, perceptive, and troubling. Instead, it becomes aimless revenge porn.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
09/14/07
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

It's a throwback girl-with-a-gun exploitation tale, as well as an evolved feminist fable; and an impeccable dissection of gun control, as well as a wicked mockery of NRA mentality.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
09/13/07
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

An ugly, manipulative mess.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
09/14/07
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic

The Brave One seems to be implicitly saying that only men are capable of forceful action, only men are interesting at the centre of a moral quandary -- or at least, women who resemble men.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment 4 Comments
09/12/07
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

You will be rooting for her to off more bad guys, rather than understanding that she is disturbed and out of control.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
10/11/07
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

Unfortunately, the plotting in The Brave One is rather pedestrian and often flawed, undermining this film’s potential for greatness.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
09/13/07
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle

The moody tone and carefully balanced drama turn a grubby premise into something unexpectedly elegant.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/14/07
Tasha Robinson
Tasha Robinson
AV Club

Fundamentally insane.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment 2 Comments
09/14/07
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

Armed with good performances--and contrivances.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
09/16/07
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Unfortunately, with each bullet she discharges, credibility takes a hit.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
09/18/07
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC

Remind me not to piss Jodie Foster off!

Full Review Source: Beaumont Journal | comment Comment
09/13/07
Danny Minton
Danny Minton
Beaumont Journal

Dreadful misfire casts Jodie Foster as a vengeance-fueled vigilante bent on cleaning up a New York that hasn't existed for years.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
09/13/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

The Brave One is oppressively plot-driven. All the mood is snuffed out. The filmmakers so want Erica's actions to make sense to us that the movie usually seems illogical despite itself.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
09/14/07
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Rafer Guzman
Rafer Guzman
Boston Phoenix

Director Neil Jordan, usually a master at creating atmosphere, keeps us at a remote distance throughout.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Kevin Courrier
Kevin Courrier
Boxoffice Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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