The Brave One
[No spoilers]
I saw the trailers for this movie online and thought it looked interesting. I was curious to see the movie, for it promised a bit of revenge, good acting, action, and some introspection on the consequences of being a vigilante. I was a little worried that all the action and revenge were contained in the trailer and that I might be going to watch some sappy, teary-eyed drama that whined about the personality failings and told some sob-story about Jodie Foster's character. I was also a bit worried that it might be some vehicle for anti-gunners out there or some other idiotic political action group.
Let me tell you: my worries were never more unfounded. This movie was revenge, action and good acting from beginning to end. It was Death Wish but with Jodie Foster instead of Charles Bronson. Fucking awesome. It was a terrific role for Jodie Foster, as her character was not a weak-willed victim, but a hard, vengeful killer. You'll delight as she blows away the bad guys. Even better, it was actually pro-gun, if you can believe that. Not overtly so, which would have pissed me off as a vehicle for the NRA, but only so because it is very true-to-life.
Despite all the action, the movie isn't mindless. I found the main character's development to be fascinating. The movie does a good job in showing the radical change in her mentality and does a good job in making you think about her position and wonder what's going through her head. I like the fact that it doesn't draw conclusions for you or try to railroad your thought process through some 'message' that the producers want to get across. In a lot of ways, it's actually a feel-good movie about revenge.
Unfortunately, the movie stops short of an action masterpiece, such as Man on Fire or Ronin. Sadly, it had the potential to be excellent, as the cast was up for the job, but the script was lacking a bit. There were a couple of corny lines in the movie which made you shake your head. There were two or three that stick out in my mind, and, while not nearly as corny as those horrible lines from Schwarzenegger in his bad action movies ("Stick around!" as he nails a guy to the wall), they are a little too much to be saying as an exclamation (as they are in the movie). The plot fell down a bit near the end, where I think Hollywood producers took control of the script for about 45 seconds, but their control is fortunately wrested away and the movie comes to a better conclusion a few minutes later. The only other somewhat weak part of the movie is at the very end, when Jodie Foster narrates a bit. She talks about her feelings and how she changed from suffering the attack; while it attempts to reflect on things, it ends up bringing more of a 'no duh' reaction from the audience.
Interestingly, there were parts of the movie that were laugh-out-loud funny. The audience cracked up 3 or 4 times in the theater, and it wasn't at the crappy one-line exclamations. While some people might say that humor this brazen doesn't have its place in a serious movie, I would disagree in this case. While I agree that it has to be handled delicately, I think that this movie used humor appropriately. The humor was usually dry, and wasn't from an overt joke; usually the audience was laughing at the nonchalance with which the seasoned New York detectives met a gruesome scene, or the attitudes of the general public toward a vigilante. The movie made you ride an emotional roller coaster, from fear and revulsion at the initial attacks to sadness at the results of the attack, and then to suspense and excitement at the victim revenging herself. In there, you occasionally laugh, too. It's as if you're experiencing the emotions of the main character all in the span of two hours. Unlike some movies where the entire point was to leave you feeling one way or another, and the plot is irrelevant compared to the way the filmmaker wanted you to feel, The Brave One hits some of these emotions to better connect you with the main character, ultimately adding a little extra dimension to the movie.
Overall, this movie is highly entertaining, and I want to see it again to see what else I pick up the second time through. Definitely worth seeing in the theater, even here in the People's Kommunist Republik of Kalifornia for $9.50.
Overall, 3.5 out of 4.
I saw the trailers for this movie online and thought it looked interesting. I was curious to see the movie, for it promised a bit of revenge, good acting, action, and some introspection on the consequences of being a vigilante. I was a little worried that all the action and revenge were contained in the trailer and that I might be going to watch some sappy, teary-eyed drama that whined about the personality failings and told some sob-story about Jodie Foster's character. I was also a bit worried that it might be some vehicle for anti-gunners out there or some other idiotic political action group.
Let me tell you: my worries were never more unfounded. This movie was revenge, action and good acting from beginning to end. It was Death Wish but with Jodie Foster instead of Charles Bronson. Fucking awesome. It was a terrific role for Jodie Foster, as her character was not a weak-willed victim, but a hard, vengeful killer. You'll delight as she blows away the bad guys. Even better, it was actually pro-gun, if you can believe that. Not overtly so, which would have pissed me off as a vehicle for the NRA, but only so because it is very true-to-life.
Despite all the action, the movie isn't mindless. I found the main character's development to be fascinating. The movie does a good job in showing the radical change in her mentality and does a good job in making you think about her position and wonder what's going through her head. I like the fact that it doesn't draw conclusions for you or try to railroad your thought process through some 'message' that the producers want to get across. In a lot of ways, it's actually a feel-good movie about revenge.
Unfortunately, the movie stops short of an action masterpiece, such as Man on Fire or Ronin. Sadly, it had the potential to be excellent, as the cast was up for the job, but the script was lacking a bit. There were a couple of corny lines in the movie which made you shake your head. There were two or three that stick out in my mind, and, while not nearly as corny as those horrible lines from Schwarzenegger in his bad action movies ("Stick around!" as he nails a guy to the wall), they are a little too much to be saying as an exclamation (as they are in the movie). The plot fell down a bit near the end, where I think Hollywood producers took control of the script for about 45 seconds, but their control is fortunately wrested away and the movie comes to a better conclusion a few minutes later. The only other somewhat weak part of the movie is at the very end, when Jodie Foster narrates a bit. She talks about her feelings and how she changed from suffering the attack; while it attempts to reflect on things, it ends up bringing more of a 'no duh' reaction from the audience.
Interestingly, there were parts of the movie that were laugh-out-loud funny. The audience cracked up 3 or 4 times in the theater, and it wasn't at the crappy one-line exclamations. While some people might say that humor this brazen doesn't have its place in a serious movie, I would disagree in this case. While I agree that it has to be handled delicately, I think that this movie used humor appropriately. The humor was usually dry, and wasn't from an overt joke; usually the audience was laughing at the nonchalance with which the seasoned New York detectives met a gruesome scene, or the attitudes of the general public toward a vigilante. The movie made you ride an emotional roller coaster, from fear and revulsion at the initial attacks to sadness at the results of the attack, and then to suspense and excitement at the victim revenging herself. In there, you occasionally laugh, too. It's as if you're experiencing the emotions of the main character all in the span of two hours. Unlike some movies where the entire point was to leave you feeling one way or another, and the plot is irrelevant compared to the way the filmmaker wanted you to feel, The Brave One hits some of these emotions to better connect you with the main character, ultimately adding a little extra dimension to the movie.
Overall, this movie is highly entertaining, and I want to see it again to see what else I pick up the second time through. Definitely worth seeing in the theater, even here in the People's Kommunist Republik of Kalifornia for $9.50.
Overall, 3.5 out of 4.
Labels: Movie Reviews
posted by ChemicalJesus at 1:37 AM
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