Honestly, anyone who’s in the market for a movie like this isn’t looking for a character study or a commentary on the meaning of life.
Jason Momoa is best known to most people as either Aquaman or Khal Drogo from TV’s Game of Thrones. Aquaman is a muscle-bound, wise-cracking Atlantean superhero and Drogo is the muscle-bound and ruthless leader of the Dothraki tribe. He’s also played Conan the Barbarian in the ill-advised 2011 re-imagining of the 1982 Arnold Schwarzenegger action classic. Long story short, Momoa isn’t known for his acting range as much as his ability to take on larger-than-life roles that require larger-than-average actors.
Braven, a relatively low-budget action flick, casts Momoa as Joe Braven, a logger in the Pacific Northwest. Joe lives with his wife (Stephanie Miller) and daughter (Sasha Rossof) as well as his father, Linden (Stephen Lang, Avatar). Linden has been experiencing dementia after an accident.
One night, Linden wanders down to the local bar and mistakes a female patron for his deceased wife. A fight ensues and Joe has to rescue him but not before Linden and Joe sustain some injuries. At the hospital, a doctor warns Joe that Linden requires constant supervision and recommends that he be placed in an assisted living facility.
The next morning, Joe decides to take his father up to their hunting cabin in the woods to discuss the situation. After arriving at the cabin, they discover their shed has been broken into and a large duffel bag full of cocaine has been hidden inside. The bag’s owners, one of whom is friends with Joe, return to claim their property. Joe and Linden have to come up with a plan to escape with their lives. Things are further complicated when Joe discovers his daughter has tagged along.
Braven was directed by Lin Oeding, who is best known as a stunt coordinator for numerous television shows and films. The film is full of action sequences that are entertaining and occasionally ridiculous but never portray anyone, including Momoa, as superhuman. Unusually tolerant of pain, maybe, but never superhuman.
Thomas Pa’a Sibbett’s script, from a story he co-wrote with Mike Nilon, never throws any surprises at the audience. This is a meat-and-potatoes story about a meat-and-potatoes family fighting for survival against a relatively nondescript set of bad guys. The head druglord, Kassen (Garret Dillahunt,) is willing to pop a cap in anyone who crosses him but we never learn a thing about him beyond that. His underlings are there to simply take his orders in a vaguely military fashion.
It’s refreshing to see Jason Momoa take on such a low-key character. Joe Braven isn’t likely a role he’ll ever be remembered for playing, but it’s nice to know that he can, when necessary, play a regular guy and make it work.
Honestly, anyone who’s in the market for a movie like this isn’t looking for a character study or a commentary on the meaning of life. They want action, a well-defined (if reluctant) good guy, unmistakable villains, and a metric crap ton of action. Braven delivers exactly that in an easy-to-digest, 90 minute popcorn flick. I can’t argue with that.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
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