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This film is just another in a long line of violent and revenge themed films that have premiered in the past month. It began with Rob Zombie's Halloween, worked its way into Death Sentence featuring Kevin bacon and will come full circle (we hope) with Neil Jordan's (The Crying Game, Interview With the Vampire) The Brave One. Though I hopped that Jordan would put his own spin on the revenge picture, I was disappointed to find that it was the same thing just in a different theater making it Jordan's worst film to date.

Two-time Academy Award Winner Jodie Foster (The Accused, Silence of the Lambs) portrays Erica Bain, a rising personality on one of New York's largest talk radio stations. She journeys through the city she loves bringing sounds and stories to the listeners of her radio show which is aptly named "Street Walk." At home she has found the love of her life in David Kirmani, played by Naveen Andrews (Lost) and they are engaged to be married. The wedding is right around the corner. So close that they have even ordered the invitations.

One night while walking their German Shepherd, the couple is ambushed in what could only be compared to the "Wilding" act of violence perpetrated on the jogger in Central Park so many years ago, complete with a bad guy video tapping the event. The vicious attack leaves Erica broken and beat up in the hospital, her fianc murdered and their dog stolen.

Erica's body quickly heals, but her mind is fractured. She has a hard time just walking out the door of her apartment, let alone confronting life again. When she finally does make the attempt, we feel the creepiness of the streets she once loved. The way every little sound that she once thought beautiful are now seen as a threat. These feelings change when Erica's fears become too much to handle and she purchases a hand gun. Everything spirals down the drain at this point, when Erica finds herself in situation after situation where she has to use the hand gun in self defense. In truth she is placing herself in situations that she knows are dangerous and might offer her the chance to avenge her fianc's death. This premise becomes more and more ridiculous as you might begin to wonder just how many times is someone likely to witness a violent crime in reality.

There are a few memorable moments in The Brave One, such as cutting back and forth between the violent beating Erica and David are subjected to with scenes of them making love. This makes the violence so much more horrible as we watch not only David being killed, but their love falling victim as well.

Foster's performance is just okay, but this reviewer couldn't help thinking how much better she played the victim in The Accused. I actually found myself wondering through the entire film, what exactly happened to Erica's dog. This became more of a concern then what may or may not happen to any of the other characters in the film.

The Brave One tries to bring Talk Radio (Eric Bogosian) and Death Wish together creating a horrible train wreck. Jordan seemingly attempts to create a subtext to the film which says that distorting your morals in some cases is a necessary evil. That morals can change depending on the situation. As true as that might be, the situations, events and characters in the film are not strong enough to give us pause to care about why Erica is seeking revenge other than for the act itself.

I hope that the new breed of revenge films has run their course. As for The Brave One, I can say that the only reason to see this film is to find out what happens to the German Shepherd in the finale. Otherwise we are left with a decent 1st act and an okay 3rd act which leaves the entire meat of the film lacking any spice or taste.

Learn more about this author, Mitchell Dean.
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