Sadly Over-hyped

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Don't get fooled by the title. It does not refer to Johnny Depp. No it refers to the viewer who is brave enough to endure this waste of time. I watched this movie at a friends house and I did not know the movie, but he said it got good reviews. We were all outraged that Johnny Depp wasted 2 hours of our lives with this crap. Most boring movie ever. We wanted to turn it off, but my friend said that it had a good ending. He lied. Afterwards we decided to give him a couple of punches for this terrible movie, and it was the last time he decides which movie we'll see. If somebody you don't like asks you: Hey seen any good movies lately? Point him towards The Brave.

A while ago i was looking through my on-line rental list and i got recommended a film i had not heard of before called The Brave,the only details i could find is that it stars and was directed an co-written by Johnny Depp.So i picked it to rent,and i was very pleased to see that this is a fantastic film,and its a real shame that Depp has not directed again: The Plot: Depp plays an American Indian named Raphael,Raphael finds out the very run-down area where he and his family live,is going to get bulldozed over soon,so Raphael-who has a very "troubled" past,feels he has to do everything he can to get enough money so his family can move from the area.He goes to a old ware-house,where he is told he could get $50,000 for being in a snuff film (that will show him getting tortured and killed)Raphael accepts the offer,hes then told he has one week to sort everything in his life out,before he is murdered.But when a drug dealer hears about this,he tells Raphel that he will kill his wife and kids when he dies.So Raphel decides to take action..View on the Film: The person i must highlight is Johnny Depp.While Depp is known for doing very loud characters,he does a very different turn here.Here he seems to be a very somber person,and thought he is flawed- you do feel sympathy for him.Depp also does a great job at at showing someone who feels that death is tied to his legs.As a director Depp shows that if this was not sadly the only film he did,the he would be really special.The film has a very "elegiant" feel,that can proudly be put next to the films of Terrrnce Malick.He also does well when a part in the film that involves violence (thankfully not the Snuff film) he makes sure its not seen as a gore-hound and that you understand why Raphel is taking this action,and he does a very classy love-making scene,that puts most directors to shame.Final view on the Film: A truly amazing film,thats extremely under-rated,with fantastic acting and directing from Depp.

Brave, The (1997) * (out of 4) Johnny Depp's directorial debut is a film I've been dying to see since I first heard about it back around 1996. In the film Depp plays an American Indian who can't get a job due to being a drunk and this doesn't leave much of a future for his wife and two children. Somehow he is introduced to a man (Marlon Brando) who offers his $50,000 to be tortured and killed in a snuff film. With no other future in site the man takes the job. There's been all sorts of reasons why this film was never released in America. I've heard stories of Depp being mad at American critics who trashed the film in Cannes and I've heard the storyline was just too depressing for release here. I think the real reason is that the film is simply a piece of junk. Since Depp was director, star and co-writer he certainly has to take the majority of the blame. The film has a terrific storyline but he doesn't do a thing with it and in the end the film is simply a mess. Everyone delivers their lines at such a slow and drawn out way that had they sped it up just 1% then I'm sure the film would have lost an hour of its running time. The performances are also dull and that includes Brando. I might sound like George here but this film has gotten a lot of great reviews from fans but to me it sounds like people love this film just because it has a foreign, non-Hollywood feel to it. Add in the fact that he didn't get released and they seem to be hailing this as some sort of masterpiece that "normal folks" can't "get". I think Depp is an incredibly talented guy but you wouldn't know it by watching this film.

I watched this movie because I loved the premise. I still do, but unfortunately the execution was poor. I felt like this movie was released before it was ready, that it still needed further refinement. It has several scenes that do nothing to meaningfully develop the plot or characters, and one or two plot lines that go nowhere. I liked the character of Johnny Depp's ex-partner in crime, but I didn't see the point of the plot thread involving him. Also, the movie progresses at a snail's pace. Ostensibly, the movie chronicles a week in the protagonist's life. It must be the longest week anyone has ever lived! This movie should have been at least a half-hour shorter. I can think of at least half a dozen scenes that could have been painlessly dumped. And the ending felt like a cop-out.The movie was atmospheric, which I liked. It's unfortunate Johnny Depp didn't spend more time polishing this movie, because it had potential.