Netflix’s top 10 film chart has welcomed an underrated thriller film from 2007 that fans of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver should definitely give a chance

Netflix is now streaming a late 2000s revenge thriller starring one of Hollywood’s most iconic stars and it has become a surprise hit amongst subscribers.

Featuring The Silence of the Lambs legend Jodie Foster and directed by Neil Jordan (Interview with the Vampire), this genuine cult classic has shot to the number five position on Netflix’s film chart.

It’s currently beating iconic superhero movies Batman Begins and The Dark Knight as well as another cult favourite added this week, Jennifer’s Body.

The Brave One follows Foster as radio host Erica Bain who, along with her fiancé Dr David Kirmani (played by Naveen Andrews), are attacked by a group of thugs in New York’s Central Park.

When David dies from his injuries, Erica is driven to revenge and buys a pistol, unleashing her rage in a reckless spree of vigilante killings and attempting to track down her fiancé’s killers.

Meanwhile, she forms a friendship with Detective Sean Mercer (Terrence Howard), who begins to suspect Erica has taken justice into her own hands.

Although it received mixed reviews upon its release in 2007, scoring just 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, The Brave One has gradually developed a cult following, many of whom have compared it favourably to Martin Scorsese’s film Taxi Driver, which featured one of Foster’s earliest roles as sex worker Iris.

One strong review from an IMDb user called it a “modern Taxi Driver” with Foster’s revenge-fuelled Erica taking the place of Robert De Niro’s iconic Travis Bickle.

"The Brave One is a fantastic film with a very good plot, good direction and acting,” they said. “I find it very similar in themes to Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and Jodie Foster's character (Erica) is like Travis in Taxi Driver, playing a character who is originally minding her own business, but finally becomes a victim of the society, and decides to take revenge and run the law by herself.”

Another called the film “basically a woman's version of Taxi Driver” with one scene that even feels lifted directly from the 1976 classic.

“That being said, that doesn't make this a bad movie because all artists steal. Where Brave One gets interesting is in the way it deals with gender,” they explained, and added: “Jodie Foster was born to play this role.”

A fan on Letterboxd concurred, declaring “Movie theory: Jodie Foster waited 30 years only to be starring in her own much better version of Taxi Driver” in their four-and-a-half-star review.

And another agreed: “It's like Taxi Driver, only instead of a psychopathic cab driver like Travis, it's prostitute Iris all grown up as a radio host.”

While a final enthusiast gave it a ringing endorsement: “Wowzers. This was such a great, intense, emotional and meaningful film. Jodie Foster is such a phenomenal actress. The final scene was so suspenseful and meaningful.. LOVED IT!!”

Hundreds of Netflix UK users already seem to have discovered this noughties classic, so make sure you jump on the bandwagon and prepare yourself for a white-knuckle tale of violence and revenge.

The Brave One is available to stream on Netflix.