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Thankfully, she didn’t shoot her show reel for nothing.
Jodie Foster’s known to kick ass in movies but in The Brave One
(her stretch of the acting muscle) she literally, kicks ass. It’s a
radically different role for Foster – who, lets be honest, isn’t afraid
to do different things – with both her character and the film itself
border lining much more on the Saturday afternoon popcorn variety than
we’re used to seeing her donate flesh to. Little Man Tate this ain’t.
Brave is what happens when a fine filmmaker like Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, The End of the Affair)
meets a trashy action producer like Joel Silver. Silver obviously won a
lot of the boardroom arguments, because the film definitely weighs in
on the popcorn matinee side-of-things for the most part, but Jordan’s
distinct deep-rooted character drama still bubbles underneath. It’s an
intriguing blend to say the least.
Death Wish for damsels, the film focuses on a radio personality (Foster) whose fiancée (Naveen Andrews of Lost)
is brutally killed by some street punks. With the cops knee deep in
other cases, and hers brushed aside weeks ago, Erika decides to take
matters in her own hands. With her new weapon, Erika sort-of becomes
the 'Batman' to cop Terrence Howard’s 'Commissioner Gordon', with the
law being temporarily transferred to a vigilante that’s doing the task
the cops wish they could do.
It mightn’t have much of a message
(killing is OK, as long as those you’re taking out are bad, M’Kay?) and
its definitely riduclous at times (only takes Erika about two minutes
to learn how to fire a gun like she’s straight out of Kuwait – hence
the Rambo comparisons) but in terms of sheer entertainment, The Brave One delivers two-fold.
Foster is customarily fantastic (could be Foster’s best performance since Silence of the Lambs),
the film is tight and simmers away beautifully, and the direction is
crafty and concise. A solid, gritty piece of entertainment.
EXTRAS
Additional scenes and a featurette amongst the extras. Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 55%
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