Conan vs Terminator - "Braven" review

So not too long ago a friend of mine told me about this movie called "Braven" starring Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Garret Dillahunt, and Jill Wagner. Where Momoa plays a logger who must contend with a group of drug smugglers who try to kill him and his family after they discover a hidden stash of drugs in their mountain cabin. And immediately I was sold. I've been a fan of Momoa ever since his time on Stargate Atlantis (fans will no doubt be happy to see Wagner as she had a recurring role on the show as well). While many will now know him for his role in Game of Thrones, and the god-awful Justice League movie though we won't hold it against him, he will always be Ronon Dex to me and many others.

The man was born to be an action star, and I've been really sad to see that he's not been in many action films as the lead. The only other major film I remember him being in was a Stallone flick where he played the villain. Momoa cuts an intimidating figure, which has certainly served him well in many roles, but many who have seen him on Stargate know he can be soft and cuddly as well. And in Braven we finally get to see Momoa do more than look like he could kick the crap out of Arnold Schwarzenegger back in his prime and take his lunch money.

And then there's Stephen Lang, whom I'm always glad to see because he too has developed a tough-guy persona thanks to his work on films like Avatar (where he was the only likable character) and Terra Nova (where he was the only likable character). Once again, a man who cuts a very imposing figure on screen and I feel was an excellent choice for the role of Momoa's father in the film. Though I will always remember him as the cowardly Ike Clanton in "Tombstone."

And then there's Garret Dillahunt who I will always remember as the hilarious bumbling father on "Raising Hope." However, the man has made a career out of playing bad guys as well. Terminator fans will recognize him as the second version of the main terminator on the Sarah Connor Chronicles television series, where he got to slaughter an entire FBI team raiding his hotel room to Johnny Cash.

Which technically means this movie is an unofficial "Conan The Barbarian vs The Terminator" film. So, again, badass. And these three are all in a movie together. Like I said, I was immediately hooked. So I popped onto Amazon Prime, where you can find the film at the time of this article's posting, and watched it. And I wasn't disappointed.

The film begins with Momoa's Joe Braven, the owner of a logging company in what I assume was either Alaska or Canada I cannot remember if the film specified, dealing with his father's increasing dementia. We see Braven wrestle with this and trying to take care of his business. The film takes its time in establishing the characters and their relationships, and everyone does a great job here making it feel like they're all a close-knit family.

More proof that Momoa is just a big lovable puppy.

However, one of Braven's workers is helping run drugs across the border by smuggling them in hollowed out logs. But things go pear-shaped when his rig crashes and he's forced to hide the drugs at Braven's winter cabin in the mountains. And it just-so-happens to be on the day that Braven has decided to take his father up there to discuss whether or not Braven's father should be put into a care facility. And the head of the smuggling operation, Kassen, heads up to the cabin with some goons to retrieve the drugs.

What follows is a pretty intense stand-off inside the cabin as Braven, his father, and his daughter (who stowed away with them) have to fight off Kassen and his men. However, the film is not a fast-paced action thrill ride, and I apologize if I made it seem that way. It takes a more subdued, yet brutal, approach to the action. It's a game of chess between the Bravens and Kassen and his goons. Yet when the body count begins to rise, it certainly feels visceral. There's one scene involving red hot pincers that made me wince, and the climax involves a bear trap used in a clever yet painful way.

Momoa persuades a critic of Conan The Barbarian to reconsider his opinion.

For some, Braven may just be a dime-a-dozen action/thriller movie, but I honestly enjoyed the hell out of it. A lot of it has to do with the cast being so damn good here. Dillahunt is down right terrifying as Kassen, his introductory scene showcasing what a monster he is. And as I mentioned before, Momoa isn't just a meathead. When he's tasked with doing a dramatic and emotional scene you can see the vulnerability in his eyes. His scenes with Lang are down right tear-jerking, as you can see it's killing Braven to try and talk to his father about his failing health. It's never an easy conversation to have, and it's even harder given that both are rugged mountain men. It's definitely a side of Momoa we don't get to see often enough. And I really hope that his increased fame as Aquaman means we'll get to see him do more roles like this.

My only real gripe with this movie is with Wagner's character. For most of the movie she's actually rather capable and doesn't hesitate to take up arms to protect her family when she joins the fight, but I just couldn't stand the fact that they gave her a bow and arrow to use instead of a rifle. I'm sick of the "tough chick with a bow and arrow" thing that got popularized by The Hunger Games. It's already ruined the new Tomb Raider games and it keeps creeping up in movies like this. They always over-power the bow and make it seem like a stealthy one-hit-kill weapon that surpasses all the guns.

The poster also makes Momoa look a bit like Lara Croft after a major sex change operation

Granted, that isn't the case in Braven, they do showcase how effective a bow would be and she does manage to kick some ass with it. However, she doesn't even bother picking up a gun later on and keeps using the bow, despite it not killing one goon she uses it on. I dunno maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine. I just hate bows and arrows. Despite knowing full well they are deadly weapons in their own right, but there's a reason we use guns now instead of arrows.

The film also has the notable honor of being a movie where the police aren't incompetent blowhards. In fact, once the police do arrive on the scene they make the whole situation more difficult for Kassen, however this allows him to show off just how sick and twisted he is to full effect. So it made the police look professional, albeit a little out of their element given they're sheriffs of a quiet mountain town, but also have it be a great way to make the villain all the more terrifying.

Braven is a pretty solid film overall. It's not over-the-top action where Momoa runs around the forest with an axe cutting men in two (though I'd watch the hell out of a movie like that), but it's a pretty good slow burning film with enough suspense and thrills to keep you watching until the very end.