October 18, 2008 read full article

The Brave One is not merely the most morally repellent film of the year, but a contender for the stupidest.

September 22, 2008 read full article

The fire goes out long before the film ends.

September 20, 2007 read full article

I think The Brave One could have been a better film with a different ending, but it's still a well-crafted, thought-provoking story with outstanding performances.

September 18, 2007 read full article

Foster does her best with a flawed story whose ending rings even less true than the rest of it.

September 14, 2007 read full article

Uncertainty helps keep The Brave One on its toes.

September 14, 2007 read full article

You long for all this combined talent to be in the service of something more deserving than a retread of a story that has lost the edge it had 33 years ago.

September 14, 2007 read full article

Clever, calculated, 'responsible' filmmaking.

September 14, 2007 read full article

Worth watching for Foster's fiercely arresting performance.

September 14, 2007 read full article

Two terrific lead actors under the direction of the estimable Jordan aren't enough to overcome the proven axiom that although you can make a bad movie from a good script, you can't make a good one from a bad one.

September 14, 2007 read full article

Less a brave movie than a foolhardy one. Trapped in a no man's land between seriousness and pulp trash, it plays like a combination of Death Wish and The Hours. If that sounds like an awkward fit, it is.

September 14, 2007 read full article

It's lily-livered narrative cowardice, and I reject it.

September 14, 2007 read full article

It is vengeance porn dressed up as an important film, a reverse slasher movie feigning some weak pretense of meaning beyond its own bloodlust.

September 14, 2007 read full article

The Brave One is as bold a movie as we are likely to see this year, a movie that has more in common with 1970s provocations like Straw Dogs and Taxi Driver.

September 14, 2007 read full article

What the screenwriters don't achieve in dialogue, director Jordan often delivers visually. He and his cinematographer employ a particularly powerful way to evoke Erica's resurfacing. It resembles a slow blink; it suggest a brain grappling to make sense.

September 14, 2007 read full article

Psychological suspense is what makes The Brave One spellbinding. The movie doesn't dine out on action scenes, but regards with great curiosity how these two people will end up.

September 14, 2007 read full article

What might have been a serious drama about coming to terms with violence and loss turns into a crowd-pleasing and increasingly far-fetched remake of Death Wish.

September 14, 2007 read full article

The Brave One is oppressively plot-driven. All the mood is snuffed out. The filmmakers so want Erica's actions to make sense to us that the movie usually seems illogical despite itself.

September 14, 2007 read full article

An ugly, manipulative mess.

September 14, 2007 read full article

Foster and Howard are both wonderful actors and they try very hard to make this soul stuff work. But the absurdity of the script does them in.

September 14, 2007 read full article