While he had roles in a few TV series, STARGATE among them, it wasn't until 2011 that actor Jason Mamoa broke out and caught the eye of fans around the world. That was the year that he starred in the retelling of Conan as well as his role in the HBO series GAME OF THRONES. This past year he took on the role of Aquaman in JUSTICE LEAGUE and will have a solo movie as the character next year. The nice thing is that in the time he spent as a bit player up till his starring roles you can watch the journey he's taken towards leading man status. This week we have him as the main star in BRAVEN.
Mamoa is Joe Braven, the current head of a family owned logging business. He lives in town with his wife Stephanie (Jill Wagner), young daughter Charlotte (Sasha Rossof) and his father Linden (Stephen Lang). A dedicated family man he and his wife work opposite shifts not just to have two incomes but so that one of them can be there to keep their eye on his father. This strong man who once ran the business Joe handles now is suffering from dementia, enhanced when he crashed a helicopter the year before.
The dementia is bad enough that one night Linden walks out of the house to a nearby bar asking a young woman to leave with him thinking she's his wife. The girl's date take offense and he and his friends begin beating on Linden before Joe, called in by the bar's owner, gets there to take them on himself. When the police show they find the group handled by Joe but don't press charges against him or his father. The doctor suggest they get full time help for him.
As all of this is going on Weston (Brendan Fletcher), a driver for the Braven business, is taking a load of freshly cut trees to a nearby town. To make extra money he's agreed to pick up extra logs containing drugs, working with a low level dealer named Hallett (Zahn McClarnon). A blow out sends the truck and the logs off the road and the pair pack the drugs up in duffle bags before the police can get there. Weston knows that the Bravens have a cabin nearby and suggest they store the drugs there. Hallett calls into the man he works for, Kassen (Garrett Dillahunt), who gathers his men and heads to their location.
Joe and his wife have discussed the situation with his father and while she stays home with Charlotte the pair head to the cabin to shut it up for the season. In reality Joe wants time alone with his father to talk about his condition and to make the difficult decision of what to do about his failing mental capabilities. Once they get there they find that Charlotte has stowed away wanting to go along on the trip. They also find the drugs left in the cabin.
Heading into town it happens to be just as Kassen and his men have shown up and shut down the road heading to the cabin where they show demanding the drugs. Knowing that once they have them they'll be killed, Joe and Linden must do what they can to survive and to protect Charlotte. The siege is on and the battle for their lives begins.
The plot of the movie is simple in structure and has been done before. What makes it different here is the added complication of Linden's fall into dementia. He's there at times but drifts off at others. And yet Joe must count on him and his skills with a rifle to help him if they want to survive. Another difference between most films of this sort is the arrival of Stephanie who helps take on the bad guys from the outside. So instead of the stalwart hero we're used to we now have an elderly man and an empowered woman in the mix. And it works excellently.
While all of these characters play their part there are three main roles that it all circles around. Mamoa shows that he's been working on his acting ability. He handles the physical aspects well and is certain to enjoy a successful career as an action star. Lang could have drawn all attention to himself in his performance here but instead shows he's a giving actor providing a fantastic supporting role to Mamoa. Dillahunt's performance as Kassan is subtle and brutal, from his smashing in the face of a dealer who works for him when we first see him to the military like precision he commands those under him as they attempt to take the cabin.
There are plenty of action films that come and go, too many to count. Most of them offer a decent night's entertainment but few offer an actor whose star is on the cusp of rising like Mamao's is. Watching this film in addition to his other offerings shows he has the potential to become a top star. Couple that with his humble behavior on talk shows he's visited and one can only wish him well. BRAVEN is a step in the right direction and for action fans a movie to enjoy right now.
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