The Brave One – Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Reviews, Film, Reviews

The Brave One DVD
Available at Amazon.com

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

The revenge/vigilante genre of film became really popular in the 1970s with Charles Bronson’s series of Death Wish movies. These types of film allow viewers to root for a “good guy” who attempts to get revenge on those that have done them wrong, even when obstacles in their way seem too big to overcome. Jodie Foster is great actress no doubt, but probably not someone you would think would be the lead in this type of movie. The same could be said for director, Neil Jordan, whose past movies have been very insighful and made you think like The Crying Game . Yet here they are all together in The Brave One in hopes to revive this genre of film.

In The Brave One, Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) is a successful New York City-based radio talk show host. She can’t wait for the day that she gets to marry her loving partner, David (Naveen Andrews). Those dreams are destroyed one night when the two are attacked and brutally beaten by a group of thugs. David dies, but Erica survives. Emotionally wrecked, Erica spends weeks in the hospital recovering. When she finally get out of the hospital and gathers the courage to venture outside of her apartment, the first thing she does is buy a gun. It doesn’t take long before she uses it, first once then a second time. The police, led by Detectives Mercer (Terrence Howard) and Vitale (Nicky Katt) realize they now have a vigilante on the loose, but they don’t come close to understanding what they’re dealing with. Meanwhile, Erica continues to unleash her own brand of justice in the dark streets of the city.

Jodie Foster is definitely a surprise to play this type of character, but it ends up being a pretty good casting choice. It’s actually a role she has played in the past with some success in Panic Room and Flightplan. Except this time she has a gun. Still she is believable in the role. Terrence Howard also has a nice supporting role as the detective chasing after Jodie Foster’s character. The chemistry between them is great and the scenes that they are in together are fascinating.

The main problem with this film is that you can’t really tell what it wants to be. It’s a “revenge” film that is bloody and brutal at times but never apologizes for it. At the same time, it is also a psychological thriller. The Brave One becomes about the psychology of revenge and whether or not a vigilante crosses the moral line and at what point does that happen? In addition, as you come to expect from this type of film, there is the cop who gets too close to the killer. Tension and uncertainty surround the characters of Detective Mercer and Erica Bain as their cat-and-mouse game plays out between Erica and Mercer. That is where this film is at its best, but unfortunately it is filled with some outlandish situations that forces Erica to use violence and never truly feels sorry for it.

Despite its flaws, Jordan’s film is a somewhat unique entry into the “revenge” film genre. However, it’s the psychological undertones that really raise this movie about that genre. If the actors and director could have done just a psychological thriller and not be forced to to do the vigilante type of film that the script called for, The Brave One would have been a lot better. But as it is, this film is still smart at times but other times it just feels like a female version of Death Wish or Falling Down.

The video is presented in 1080p/VC-1 at the 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen color ratio, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs of course. The transfer is crisp and clear for the most part. The film is very dark, but the color rendering is able to show off the excellent detail in the shadows of the city.

The audio included is available in either English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround sound, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound, French 5.1 Surround sound (Dubbed in Quebec), or Spanish 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French as well. The audio is definitely top-notch as dialogue and music come out loud and clear. In addition, when shots are fired you’ll feel like you need to duck for cover yourself.

“I Walk The City” Featurette – This featurette runs for 21 minutes and it’s you basic “making of” featurette. We get various comments from the cast and crew as they try a “hard sell” on this movie with the overall theme being that this movie is the best in the vigilante genre of film. Nothing too insightful here really, though.

Deleted Scenes – There are 7 minutes worth of scenes that didn’t make the final cut of the movie. None really provide anything extra to the film, so they are just there if you want to see them.

The acting and direction is near perfect. But The Brave One tries too hard to appeal to a variety of audiences. I can only recommend a rental as a result unless you are a hardcore Jodie Foster or Terrence Howard fan, then you may want to purchase this. It could have been much more, but it’s not so it just stands as a slightly above-average thriller.

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Warner Home Video presents The Brave One. Directed by Neil Jordan.
Starring Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Nicky Katt, Naveen Andrews, and Mary Steenburgen. Written by Roderick Taylor, Bruce A. Taylor, and Cynthia Mort. Running time: 122 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: February 5, 2008.Available at Amazon.com

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