6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.7 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
New York radio host Erica Bain has a life that she loves and a fiance she adores. All of it is taken from her when a brutal attack leaves Erica badly wounded and her fiance dead. Unable to move past the tragedy, Erica begins prowling the city streets at night to track down the men she holds responsible. Her dark pursuit of justice catches the public's attention, and the city is riveted by her anonymous exploits. But with the NYPD desperate to find the culprit and a dogged police detective hot on her trail, she must decide whether her quest for revenge is truly the right path, or if she is becoming the very thing she is trying to stop.
Starring: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Nicky Katt, Naveen Andrews, Mary SteenburgenThriller | 100% |
Crime | 62% |
Psychological thriller | 5% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
There is no going back to that other. She is gone. This thing, this stranger, it’s all you are
now.
There is an old saying: "if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself."
I'm not necessarily sure that that holds true for everybody and for every situation,
but it pretty much sums up the motivation of Jodie Foster's character in The Brave One. If
you've seen the ads for the film then you know that it's basically a film revolving around the work of
a vigilante, a person who takes justice into their own hands, foregoing the mediation of the law
through conventional channels and doling out instant punishment on the streets. Such people and
such films always make for interesting character studies, and The Brave One is certainly
the highest profile film to focus on this phenomena since Death Wish.
Jodie Foster unwinds with some trigger time.
The Brave One is another great looking disc from Warner. I was extremely impressed with the visual style of this movie. Presented in 1080p high definition and inside its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio, this image looks clean and free of any discernible negatives. This is yet another film that sports a rather drab color scheme, eliminating most of the bright colors in favor of darker shades, all the while staying out of harsh lighting and naturally bright locales. The theme of the movie is certainly a dark one, and the look of the film, visually, reinforces that undertone very well. Black levels are appropriately excellent throughout, featuring an inky and flawless presentation. The print itself is absolutely pristine and I didn't notice much (if any) grain in the source. Fine detail is extremely high and the image appears very clean with quite a bit of depth. Flesh tones are spot on and natural in appearance. All in all, this is about as good a transfer as you can expect, especially for a movie shot in low light and sporting a desaturated color scheme and whose most important scenes are bathed in darkness. This is a fine effort from Warner Brothers.
Warner Brothers presents The Brave One with a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. While I wouldn't necessarily label this as a "weak" soundtrack, there certainly isn't a whole lot going on to really draw the viewer in or heighten the more intense scenes in the picture. What we get is a mostly straightforward, front heavy sound design with most of the emphasis on dialogue. The Brave One is certainly not your average shooter movie that depends on explosions and car chases to progress the story, so it should come as no surprise that even with the inclusion of the lossless track, there is no real "wow" factor accompanying this mix. Dialogue is presented with clarity and fine attention to detail, though I found it slightly hard to hear during a few points in the film. Therefore, I listened to this one a few notches higher than normal. The rear channels are used only sparingly. Ambiance and music slip into the back channels every now and then, but they play second fiddle to the harder-hitting elements of the track that occur up front. Gun shots, though fairly few and far between, reverberate with authority and impact, and represent the strongest use of low frequency effects in the film, shared only by a few pieces of music scattered here and there. A montage of events in chapter 20 represents the height of the track, seemingly re-mixing a few moments we've already witnessed in the film with a louder, more aggressive presence. This is a solid track, if just a bit underwhelming, but considering the source material just doesn't call for an overly rambunctious audio assault, we can label this one as "very good."
Oddly enough, Warner Brothers has chosen not include very many special features on either this Blu-ray disc or on the standard definition DVD version. In other words, fans of The Brave One need look elsewhere for their fill of additional material for this release. Behind the Story: I Walk the City (1080i, 21:41) showcases the cast and crew discussing what sets The Brave One apart from other vigilante films and the motivations and feelings of the character of Erica Bain. Also featured are changes in the script, filming locales, and photographic styles employed in the film. This is a decent one-stop-shop for your behind-the-scenes needs for the casual viewer, but fans of the film will be left craving more. Also included are several additional scenes (480p, 6:45) that flesh out the characters and the story a bit more, but they are nothing that would have improved the film had they been left in the final cut.
The Brave One is a movie that might leave your average movie-goer satisfied with its wholly predictable story line and clean, happy ending, but as a fan of bleaker cinema I was left disappointed. The movie features some strong points, notably the performances by and chemistry between Foster and Howard, but they failed to save the film from its rather mundane feel and overly long, often dragging, screenplay. Nevertheless, this is a movie that might challenge you to rethink your outlook on life and make some changes so as to be better prepared for the unexpected. Perhaps the best lesson we can hope to learn from this film is that taking small steps now to protect that which you love could very well prevent you from having to take much larger and more drastic steps only after its too late. There will be differing reactions to this film, and the best first step to figuring out how to handle the worst life can throw at you is to decide how best to approach dangerous situations before you're confronted by them. Regarding the Blu-ray disc itself, this one is sure to please from a technical perspective. Warner delivers an excellent video presentation and a more than adequate audio production. Supplements are severely lacking which may be a turn off for some viewers. Jodie Foster fans will want to add this one to their collection, but I would ultimately recommend seeing this film before laying down more than $20 for a copy to own.
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Uncut Version
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