Braven (2018)

[SeanJoyce]

Really surprised a thread doesn't exist for this one, since it's exactly the type of pure, "101 basics" style of movie that action cinema is sorely lacking these days.

Made in 2015 but not seeing a release until a few years later, Braven is the eponymous, hard-working family man (Jason Momoa) who absconds to his winter cabin with his dementia-afflicted dad (Stephen Lang) to discuss their family's future...which mainly revolves around the displacement of Lang's character to a nursing home.

Once there they immediately run afoul of a group of vicious drug dealers (led by Garett Dillahunt), who have used his rustic domicile as an asylum to store drugs. Braven and his still-physically-capable dad are forced to defend their refuge after the standoff leads to murder. The stakes are raised considerably when Braven's wife and daughter are introduced to the carnage.

It's sad that a movie like Braven has flown so considerably under the radar, even despite Momoa's surging popularity in recent years (most audiences identity him from Aquaman or Game of Thrones, but I've long recalled him as the sadistic and intimidating henchman from Walter Hill's Bullet to the Head.) Its lean, brawny sensibilities make it stand out in a sea of fizzled, carbonated CGI tonics and harken back to a simpler era of action movie, characterized by heart and practical effects.

As big and dumb as Braven can be, the performances are good across the board, with Momoa projecting a vulnerability beneath his freakish physique and Lang continuing to perfect the "old, grizzled badass" shtick despite adeptly portraying a debilitating infirmity. Dillahunt's role is rather thin but he has fun with it, mainly by employing a hair-trigger temper and a mannered style of speech.

First-time feature director but long-time stunt coordinator Lin Oeding brings a keen eye and wealth of experience to the various gun battles and fisticuffs, resulting in the type of fresh, old-school return to action that should satisfy the more red-blooded movie types whose diet subsists mainly on 80s and 90s fare. This retro, homespun philosophy is best exemplified in the moments Braven and Lang find clever (and brutal) uses for household tools to ward off their attackers.

Not to be outdone or overlooked, however, is the location; filmed in Newfoundland, Canada, Oeding and cinematographer Brian Andrew Mendoza do not skimp on the rugged, majestic beauty of their arena. The snow-blanketed trees and mountains make for a breathtaking panorama, and some shots suggest a contrast between nature's utopia and man's barbarism. Braven makes for an ideal companion to stuff like Shoot to Kill or Cliffhanger; indeed, I followed it up with the mighty Bronson/Marvin team-up Death Hunt and couldn't ask for a better night in front of my tv.

Simply put, Braven is chicken soup for the blood-and-thunder fan's soul, and it should be warmly embraced by people bored with contemporary "action" cinema.