"The Brave One" * (out of four): Dreadful misfire casts Jodie Foster as a vengeance-fueled vigilante bent on cleaning up a New York that hasn't existed for years.

Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard are both powerful actors worth watching even in the most unworthy circumstances. But neither actor can save "The Brave One" - a vigilante thriller as misguided as its title is innocuous. Directed by Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game") with a plodding, ponderous pace and self-important tone, "Brave One" doesn't even generate the vicarious thrills requires in a revenge drama.

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