Rating of
2.5/4
Review: Brave
MikePA - wrote on 08/13/12
Quick Review --- Brave is Pixar's latest offering after 2011's Cars 2, which I didn't see but received mostly negative reviews from critics and mixed reactions from moviegoers. Based on the Pixar films I have seen (all of them besides Cars 2), Brave is not one of their best. However, Brave is certainly Pixar's best-looking film, with a great message and an enormously entertaining first half-hour. The film has terrific visual imagery, some wit and funny lines (a lot of them delivered by Merida's father, King Fergus), exciting sequences of adventure and action, and fantastic vocal performances, the standout being Kelly Macdonald, bringing a likable charm to the film's main character, Merida. After the first, and very good, half-hour, the film takes some tonal shifts which seemed too abrupt. I don't say the rest of the movie is bad, but a lot of it felt underwhelming. The film's main story is the relationship between Merida and her mother, Elinor (voiced by Emma Thompson), when she is put under a spell and turned into a bear. To me, this relationship felt forced, and by the cliched ending I wasn't feeling much emotion or sympathy for these characters, which is pretty odd for a Pixar film. Brave is one of Pixar's weaker movies, but it is still a good treat.
2.5/4
