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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.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence, language and some sexuality.

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

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

Theatrical Release:Sep 14, 2007 Wide

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 The fear that had once paralyzed her has been replaced by something else...something that drives her to reclaim the life that was taken from her that night...something that Erica does not even recognize in herself.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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Release:

Feb 5, 2008

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Reviews for The Brave One

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41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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Foster convinces as the petrified victim turned vengeful killer and Howard is superb as the world weary detective. Together, they just about managed to save a frequently ham-fisted script.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
09/28/07
Bill Beattie
Bill Beattie
Sky Movies

It wants to be a modern Taxi Driver; it manages to be the new Falling Down, with Foster as fierce as ever.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/28/07
William Thomas
William Thomas
Empire Magazine

Foster is terrific and Jordan's direction is impressive, but the film doesn't quite succeed, due to the strain of trying to be both angry revenge thriller and emotional, thought-provoking drama.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
09/27/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Dirty Jodie

Full Review Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) | comment Comment
09/26/07
Thomas Peyser
Thomas Peyser
Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

Kill 'em Jodie.

Full Review Source: Denton Record Chronicle (TX) | comment Comment
09/23/07
Boo Allen
Boo Allen
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard deliver unforgettable performances that elevate this movie to more than a revenge film.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
09/23/07
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/22/07
Scott A. Mantz
Scott A. Mantz
Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews

Masterwork of craft, manipulating viewer emotions to elicit unthinking responses and unabashed bloodlust.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
09/22/07
Susan Tavernetti
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly

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

At its best, this high-toned vigilante picture depicts a woman almost literally transformed by violence, first as a victim, then as a participant; she could be a cousin to one of the car-wreck victims in David Cronenberg's 'Crash.'

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
09/21/07
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Bravura performances can't save this 'One, a run-of-the-mill vigilante flick from director Neil Jordan (not known for his run-of-the-mill anything).

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
09/21/07
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

And that brings us the bad stuff, heretofore known as the script. The story keeps on putting Erica in harm's way, so much that you're not sure why. I mean, would a woman alone really ride on the subway at night?

Full Review Source: Nolan's Pop Culture Review | comment Comment
09/20/07
Michael A. Smith
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review

Be care of the bait and switch. The film flip-flops from start to finish between a heart film with a vigilante and a vigilante film with a heart.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
09/20/07
Adam Fendelman
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com

The fire goes out long before the film ends.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
09/20/07
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Works as exploitation but fails at anything more socially relevant.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
09/19/07
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

In Jordan's hands, the film becomes a tormented trip into a nightmarish world of murky darkness and neo-Expressionist camera angles.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
09/19/07
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

With all the thematic false starts and missed opportunity, The Brave One boils down to violence begets violence, and says it cures all the pain of loss.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
09/18/07
Jason Morgan
Jason Morgan
Filmcritic.com

...one of the most compelling and flat-out exciting revenge thrillers to come along in quite some time.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
09/18/07
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

[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

I think The Brave One could have been a better film with a different ending, but it’s still a well-crafted, thought-provoking story with outstanding performances.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
09/18/07
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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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
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