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Movies / Upcoming / The Brave One
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, Theatrical Release, New York City, Revenge

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 The fear that had once paralyzed her has been replaced by something else...something that drives her to reclaim the life that was taken from her that night...something that Erica does not even recognize in herself.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 date; Australian critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 19 2007 03:15 AM

Sydney Morning Herald

splat

Urban Cinefile Critics

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: | comment Comment | Oct., 05 2007 11:58 PM

Urban Cinefile

splat

Fernando F. Croce

Deplorable urban-vengeance melodrama

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 27 2009 07:36 PM

CinePassion

splat
2.5/4

Mike Scott

You know what would be brave? Making an unflinching film about a difficult-to-tackle topic and complex characters, and sticking to your message, damn the torpedoes.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 14 2009 07:07 AM

Times-Picayune

N/R

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 29 2009 03:15 AM

Cinema Crazed

N/R

Rafer Guzman

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 23 2009 03:15 AM

Boston Phoenix

tomato
2.0/5

Tony Macklin

The Brave One is worth seeing for the scenes between Terrence Howard and Jodie Foster.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 02 2009 08:05 AM

Fayetteville Free Weekly

N/R

Bob Mondello

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 03:22 AM

NPR.org

N/R

Eric Lurio

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 03:22 AM

Entertainment Insiders

splat

Christopher Orr

The Brave One is not merely the most morally repellent film of the year, but a contender for the stupidest.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Sep., 22 2008 08:54 PM

New Republic

splat
4/10

Heather Huntington

They're trotting it around at all the festivals trying to distract everyone from how bad it is.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 08 2008 12:14 PM

ReelzChannel.com

splat
2/5

Jim Lane

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 07 2008 03:15 AM

Sacramento News & Review

splat
2/5

Alonso Duralde

[A] dopey action movie featuring the contributions of people too talented to waste their time on something this risible.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 01 2008 04:15 PM

MSNBC

tomato
7/10

Dragan Antulov

Jordan je, koriste%u0107i svoj nesumnjivi re%u017Eijski talent, snimio film koji je istovremeno i staromodan i moderan

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 10 2008 03:51 AM

Index.hr

splat
5/10

Jeff Bayer

The switch is flipped so quickly by Erica that I didn't root for her vengeance, I felt sorry for her.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 03 2008 03:10 PM

The Scorecard Review

tomato
6/10

Brandon Fibbs

The Brave One feels like a superhero movie, charting the familiar story of an unsuspecting everywoman who discovers one day that a gun gives her special powers to right wrongs and uphold justice.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 28 2008 08:49 AM

Colorado Springs Gazette

splat

Prairie Miller

Audience identification with the movie really rests on whether you're turned off by this freestyle, really pissed off judge and jury female assassin, or else in the mood to cut this loose cannon sexy sniper some slack.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 03 2008 04:07 PM

NewsBlaze

splat

Rob Humanick

If nothing else, enjoy Nicky Katt's hilariously smart-ass one-liners.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 31 2008 10:23 PM

Projection Booth

tomato
7/10

John J. Puccio

The movie never seems entirely plausible. Yet it makes no difference; we still get involved with it.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 23 2008 12:02 PM

DVDTown.com

splat
2/6

David Fear

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 18 2008 03:15 AM

Time Out New York

 
 
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Latest News for The Brave One

February 04, 2008: RT on DVD: The Brave One, Assassination of Jesse James Fire Onto DVD
It's a week of bravura performances among new releases, so pick your favorite headliner and go: Jodie Foster going vigilante (The Brave One), Casey Affleck turning traitor (The... More...

December 13, 2007: Atonement Leads Golden Globe Nominations
The nominations for the 65th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning. Did your favorite films, stars, and songs make the cut? More...

October 10, 2007: Warner Bros. Responds to "No More Female Films" Rumors
It seems that reports of Warner Bros. president of production Jeff Robinov's misogyny were greatly exaggerated. More...

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