Braven (2018)

Written by Wuchak on December 27, 2020

Fighting drug runners in the snowy wilds with Jason Momoa

A logger in Washington State (Jason Momoa) is forced to defend his family against a group of violent drug runners in the wintry woods. Stephen Lang and Jill Wagner play the father and wife while Garret Dillahunt and Zahn McClarnon play heavies.

"Braven" (2018) is an action/thriller that takes place in the snowy sticks in the mold of “Sugar Mountain” (2016), “Hold the Dark” (2018), “The Edge” (1997) and maybe “Cliffhanger” (1993). While it’s the least of these, it’s not bad and has its points of interest. There’s a one-man-army element akin to Rambo. What holds the movie back is a couple unbelievable action sequences, like the protagonist’s rope strategy at the end. Why Sure!

But the locations and cast are good, as well as the superlative score. A little bit of “The Last of the Mohicans” (1992) is thrown into the mix. Regrettably, the flick scores weakly on the feminine front.

The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in Newfoundland, Canada, with establishing shots of the Great Northwest and some CGI mountains in the background.

GRADE: B-/C+