Cringe worthy film on a provocative theme is poorly directed and acted, and fails to garner sympathy for the lead character. The photography is distracting and doesn't set the right mood, and the preposterous ending with Terrence Howard begging Foster to shoot him would be laughable except that it follows 2 hours of pointlessness melodrama with artistic pretensions. Despite the names involved there is no more artistry here than in Death Wish(74)which at least provided cheap B-movie thrills without the self importance. Like William Freidkin's Cruising, The Brave One confuses the issues, and ultimately fails to involve the audience. The film's song played at the end is, like the film, unendurable. Watch Ms.45 instead.
