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the Michael Douglas movie Falling Down perfected this genre. What this movie does is create a fresh vision, its reasons more justified, the detail and history leading up to the events in which Erica takes to the street wasting the cities scumbags carefully played out for the viewer to fully understand. For the first time in any vigilante movie I feel like I'm taking the journey with Erica rather than just being a casual viewer.

While I'm impressed with the movie as a whole it annoys me with these sort of films how suddenly the victim finds trouble everywhere while never going out and actively seeking it (at least not initially), having never discovered it before. It's the one thing that drags you back to more inferior movies of this type.

There is a nice cat and mouse game here that is played out between Erica and Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard), and while it echoes Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall's synergy in Falling Down here the game is played from up close, rather than from a distance, the mutual understanding being played out up close and personal. Worse still, or better for the sake of the movie Mercer actually feeds information to Erica, information that initially seems isolated but slowly plays great pertinence to the story. There is something magical about the passing of information between Mercer and Erica, it's a pinnacle changing moment; does he know what she's up to? Or is he just using her to unburden his soul?

As Erica starts to find the burden of her actions playing on her mind, and the balance of good over bad seems to become slightly offset the movie titillates its audience with a variety of near miss scenarios in which the game playing becomes enhanced. One minute you think her time of anonymity is up, the next its balance is returned allowing Erica free reign to continue her work. But still rather like any wrong doing has a negative response (if you follow a religious belief), the same applies to any good turn especially if in this sense it's a bad good turn (if you get my drift).

The Brave One despite its shocking matter, with the exception of its harrowing opening scene never falls foul of any grotesque displays of violence, it's all dealt with in a quick and well considered manner; both MS.45 and Death Wish both went over the top to deliver the shock factors, showing brutal rapes and heinous injuries. Here it's more of a hint rather than a blunt gesture, making this a movie that will never fall foul of being considered exploitation.

Foster performs well here; she displays her emotions well and is delivering her most believable victim role. It's great to see a movie with anger starring Jodie Foster where she has not been a victim of rape or sexual abuse, if you don't get where I'm coming from on this last comment look at her movie history. For once Foster is not the victim here when addressed in the larger scale, she is the person to be feared, look into her eyes for most of the movie and there is little going on; a trait that few actresses would be able to achieve.

To finish up my review I have to say the final moments of this movie will make the hair on your neck stand on your end; this is a truly exciting and mortifying finale of any movie I have seen from 2007. It is a genuine but amazing surprise that only the most daring underground movies might dare to pull.

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