Jodie Foster, one of our more intelligent performers, is electrifying in this urban thriller. The sometimes too active cinematography gets in the way, and the pacing, especially in the beginning, needs to be picked up a notch or two..The ending is difficult to believe.

Very enjoyable movie with a very gruesome trigger of homicide-filled rising action and a satisfying ending. I loved it.

Great movie,great plot intense/heart wrenching acting and amazing all around. My wife and I were on the edge of our seats the entire movie.

Stop for a minute and put yourself in Erica's position...what would you have done? Thats what the movie is asking and thats what Foster shows..whether you like it or not..thats what the movie is about..going over the edge or not.either you liked her portrayal of her character or not. I did....I don't agree with what she did but its a movie..and Foster's is beyond "the brave one " to put something like this on screen...what a superb performance and I'm beyond words to describe her as an actress, absolutely amazing. Thank you.… Expand

I saw an early cut of this film back in March. It is terrible. The story is ridiculous, but the performances are good.

Excellent movie. Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard were standouts and the story, direction, and photography keep you glued to your seat. This was far more than just another revenge movie.

Smart and taunting, demanding self reflection.

Jodie Foster, as Erica Bain, allows us to feel fear, rage, and grief until the moral line marking the sanctity of life and one's right to justice is blurred. Terrence Howard's character exposes us to a journey that can take one from feeling "for the victim" to feeling "with" them. Thus, that moral line for this straight-up cop becomes more porous as he travels, toting Erica Bain's baggage. These characters are engaging and interesting, for a while. However, the journey for Foster's character ends much sooner than the role. Thus, we are left walking the NY streets with her between acts of violence, and these walks are often much too long. Rather than the line remaining porous for Howard's detective, it dissolves at the end leaving a gaping hole as he charges through. Having him straddle the moral fence while challenging and embracing Erica Bain would have led us out of the theater in the same ethical posture, with very serious questions about objective and subjective understandings of justice. Instead the knight in shining armor ending is so contrived it leaves us with the irritating question, "Why did Neil Jordon go for the disneyesque ending?" This movie had two A list actors, a potentially great story with the power to kick our minds into gear as we contemplated just how much control do we really have over the vulnerable victim residing in us all and the accompanying rage. However, the film becomes plodding, the characters stagnant, and the mind is lulled to sleep. I am left with two questions, "What was Neil Jordon thinking?" and "Why am I not?"… Expand

I love the 'revenge' theme in books, TV, and film. Vengeance Unlimited was wrongly cancelled on TV, and nothing as tasty has made the rounds since then. 'A History of Violence' was close, but with a twist that employed a different manner of vengeance. But this film really restored my belief in the spirtiual release which comes with avenging a wrongful murder of an innocent. The casting of the cops must have been done by a cop-hater, because Terrence Howard lacked believability. Foster was great, many of the bad ganstahs, the hooker, and others were also well-cast. Naveen Andrews was also unbelievable as the object of Foster's love. But, all-in-all, this was pretty satisfying. The ending also deserves a deduction. Really, my vote is only eight-and-a-half points, but MetaCritic demands whole numbers, so better to give it a nine despite its faults than an 8. If you like getting even with the scum-bags, you won't be disappointed.… Expand

not a very compelling film... killing random people because they fit the bad stereotype just doesn't seem like something to be glorified for a whole 119 minutes. Jody Foster was good, but the story really didn't do much for me.

The story is a familiar one, but rarely is it done as well as this. Jodie Foster is terrific. Well paced and thoroughly interesting throughout. It is a little overlong, but I was always interested.

It was totally predictable and nothing new whatsoever, Foster was a mess the entire thing and didn't show any emoticon except sadness and anger. Overall it was just dumb.

This movie starts out in one genre and suddenly jumps to another. Before this unfortunate twist, it is a compelling and sensitive exploration of the aftermath of a violent crime. Too bad the filmmakers sold out and opted for an unrealistic bombastic ending. The performances of both leads, Jodie Foster and Terrance Howard, are believable even though their relationship is not.

Forget all the praise and laudatory adjectives, all I'm saying is "Jodie Foster in a film by Neil Jordan". If you love movies, That's all you need. The Brave One is everything you'd expect, and more than you hoped for from such a long over-due collaboration.

The only good thing about this movie is the performances from Jodie and Terrance....they are both Fantastic! But its just too bad that the movie itself sucks really bad I mean the story is so dumb its not even funny and the ending is even worse! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS CRAP.

This was the second film I saw at the Toronto International Film Festival and was HORRIBLY disappointed. Like so many films, I sat through the whole film hoping for redemption. Never arrived. I truly like Jodie Foster and have higher expectations of her. A star of her caliber could be making great films. Gratuitous violence in a film that adds nothing new.

If you have a half dozen events, all of which are at least 1000-1 odds of happening, you have a story which could never happen. That's what we have here.

Slow, but I didn't find it boring. Had its moments where I really liked the movie, but overall it was ok. The ending was predictable, but that didn't bother me. Its a movie you will watch and forgot the next day. If you have nothing to do on a weekend and are looking to kill an hour and a half watch this movie.

Nicole(Jane Adams) is only kidding when she refers to Erica's public display of affection towards David(Naveen Andrews), a man descended from Indians, as being "disgusting". The art gallery owner has an ironical lilt in her voice; she doesn't really hate her friend's coupling instinct to hug and kiss, after all, Nicole is east coast, a sophisticate, a card-carrying member of the intellentsia. Inter-racial relationships aren't supposed to freak her out. But not all walks of life share the same live-and-let-live mentality practiced by the broad-minded; for some, the very sight of a non-white male with his non-white hands all over a white female's body, is disgusting, sans italics. When "The Brave One" cross-cuts the couple's lovemaking with their savage beating, a correlation of cause-and-effect is made. They're being punshied. But by who? During the attack, no mention is made about either person's ethnicity by the perpetrators. The crime might not be racially motivated. But there's an inherent assumption by the audience that it is. The depiction of on-screen coital relations between racial disparates are relatively rare in mainstream film, so the editing has an unintended(or intended) effect of punishing the couple for engaging in physical love. As if "The Brave One" wasn't provocative enough, a cynic would suggest that David had to be non-white as a sort of license for Erica(Jodie Foster) to shoot black people in cold blood. She's not a racist because David was non-white. "The Brave One" isn't a racist film because Detective Mercer(Terrence Howard) is black. But what about you? Are you a racist?… Expand

Confused is the only word that come to mind.

The Brave One is one of the most electrifying movie that I have seen this year. It is very frightening & exciting, you'll never know how is it gonna end. It is a very well made movie, dark and gloomym dreary at times but that is what the movie is all about. It conveys sadness & revenge. It keeps the audience glued to the screen & never hold back. Every scene with Jodie Foster is very engaging. She really commands every scene. She did an exceptional job as Erica. She leads my vote as a prime actress to win the Oscar this year. This is a Neil Jordan film which delivered very well.… Expand

Truly the movie itself is brilliant, Jodie Foster isn't the best actor, I don't mind her, but in most of her movies her lines and performance is usually annoying or unattractive, and horrible, but in this she does Emmy content, she is outstanding, she is the girl Jason Bourne. This is the best role she can possibly get, her depression, emo-ness, revenge, lines, and performance all together was amazing, she never got on my nerves, I was on the edge of my seat (and I'm not kidding or going over the top) at most times. It is very engaging, it is somewhat boring, I can see why there is so many underrated reviews because the story first of all is pretty standard, and the plot is pretty predictable, I can see that those who are teenagers, kids (which shouldn't be watching such a movie), or young adults wouldn't like it because it is boring and poorly directed. But overall it is a flawless fantastic very good movie with gripping relativity. It is a great movie, even though it isn't as good as other boring movies, but if you enjoyed The Good Shepherd or Breach then you would love this. This is an excellent movie that can't be missed, but I'd rather only suggest you to watch it when it hits the cheap theatres because it ain't the best, and just to let you know, it isn't uncompromising, it is an easy make, and simple to get.… Expand

Good acting only accentuates the pretentious bad taste and stupidity of this movie. Completely fails as a Deathwish revenge fantasy; even worse if you take it half as seriously as it wants to be taken. Don't waste your time with this one.

Give me the original "Death Wish" any day! Charles Bronson Rest In Peace!

This is a major psychological thriller. Do not expect car chases, sensationalism, or vigilante pretext for exploitation like "Death Wish" or "The Punisher." This movie goes much, much further and beyond that. I am in favor of banning of guns, hate violence and oppose war (of any kind). But this movie deeply got to me, taking me to that point of contradiction we all have inspite of ourselves in which we found in that very thin line between life and death. "The brave one" is perfectly well conceive, intelligent, extremely moving, thought provoking and makes no concessions at all. Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard are wonderful, and are supported by an excellent supporting cast. Neil Jordan has not been so effective since "The Crying Game."… Expand

Love this movie with Jodie Foster, I have seen it twice already..a must see..two thumbs way up.

This movie was great. You can see it on Comcast ON DEMAND for $4.99, I definitely recommend it.

Foster raises this revenge film to another level. She refuses to do the "bad ass" schtick and makes you really feel her loss, pain and rage.

Pretty good, not a keeper. Slow throughout, ending suprised us. Good to watch - don't buy.

Yawn. I love Jodie Foster, but what was she thinking when she signed on for this dud? It starts out promisingly enough, but once she's packing heat, she stumbles into one bloodbath after another. Lame.

Un film/débat sur le sujet de l'auto-défense aux Etats-Unis, dirigé par Neil Jordan (Entretien avec un Vampires), avec une flamboyante Jodie Foster en tête d'affiche, aurait pu être un nouveau chef-d'oeuvre du thriller. Malheureusement, c'est loin d'être le cas... La faute à un montage brouillon, empirant une mise en scène assez déroutante, et à une bande originale trop calme, qui gâchent littéralement la première partie du film en lui faisant perdre un atout de taille : une puissance visuelle. Des séquences qui perdent de leur force dans un tel film, c'est bien plus qu'un comble! A Vif n'en reste pas moins un film bien interprété et poignant, mais qui aurait pu être bien plus qu'un thriller de bas étage.… Expand