Its photography severely lacks finesse. [...] Even the film’s final fight, a massive boxing match between the two characters, doesn’t have any sense of visual flourish, nor is the stuntwork that impressive.

Brave Citizen is my favorite film from the first week of Fantasia 2024. I went in with no real expectations, only to discover an action gem.

Brave Citizen digs deep into the bullying aspect of the storyline. Feeling dread and hopelessness makes Si-min’s gradual transition into a masked hero even more satisfying. The film is a hard watch overall, but a rewarding one with slight jabs at comedy.

It’s a film with the usual do-gooder trappings and martial arts bad-assery that make any decent action comedy fun, but it’s the approach to the villainy where BRAVE CITIZEN finds its dramatic anchor ... and beautifully satisfying.