Aquabro Jason Momoa stars in this week's straight to streaming release, Braven. When a crime goes afoul, one flannel wearing logger must destroy bad guys.
Designed and directed as a throwback to '80s and '90s action, this centerpiece for Momoa's physique and relative flair for kicking asses is a fun tribute to the glory days of drug running villains, high speed all terrain chases through the backwoods, deadly archery, and nearly plotless stories that don't really qualify to fill out a minimum run time of 90 minutes. Loaded to the brim with corny dialogue and unbelievable sequences of totally brainless twists and turns, this cup is overflowing with the tropes that used to make these movies super fun. Like almost any 'man against gang of assassin' flick from decades ago, Braven is all textbook flavor with small dashes of retro greatness.
Borrowing themes from movies like Commando, First Blood, Hard Target and various other films that pit a man against evil doers, Momoa definitely strikes a chord at recapturing the essence of old school action. Watching him and Stephen Lang paired as son and father is definitely a bit awkward at times, but both lead actors do a damn good job lifting a stagnant script out of the gutter. Everything that happens in Braven has been done before. But these two charismatic and talented actors pull together to make this a worthwhile watch even when you're nodding your head in disbelief at a few poorly rendered stunts that become tragic when you realize how bad the green screen work is.
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| Ask me if I talk to fish again and I'll chop your head off. |
Having grown up during the golden era of Stallone, Arnold, Bronson, Norris, and all the mainstay gun-toters, Momoa has the chops to carry that torch. None of those guys were (are) great actors. But they convinced us that we lived in a world where bad guys would be eliminated by everyday heroes. Braven takes long strides to hit the reset switch to bring us back to those days. It's not based on a lot of CGI. And the stunts are definitely done by real performers. In those aspects, the film delivers. It's just that the story could have used some tweaking to bring in a little more originality.
If you want a dose of straight laced action, Braven will put a smile on your face. Don't go in expecting to much and you might come out thinking you just saw something epic. Temper your expectations. You might enjoy this one.
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