Review of Four Brothers

Introduction

There`s something about John Singleton`s movies that fascinate me. It`s the environment he creates. Through his direction he seems to invite you into a world that you would never otherwise see.

In Boyz n the Hood, his biggest success to date, you experience a strange, spellbound feeling because you spend so much time in ghetto houses, cruising and taking walks to the corner shop with the cast. You seem to be right in there.

It`s probably to achieve the same feeling that we rubberneck as we drive through very deprived areas in strange towns.

Four Brothers has some of the same qualities. It`s certainly no Boys n the Hood but it is a step in the right direction for the man who hasn`t delivered anything decent since 1991.

The story takes place in Detroit following a botched convenience store robbery where their adoptive mother Evelyn, is executed. The four brothers return to lay her at rest and make some "enquiries" of their own.

It`s a great revenge story and plays like a modern day western - probably because it`s loosely based on the 1965 John Wayne film, The Sons of Katie Elder.

Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan) was no ordinary mother figure though. She was nothing short of an angel, taking in the wildest, most seemingly helpless of young men and preparing them for adulthood.

Similarly, the Mercer boys are no ordinary boys. Once notorious on the Detroit streets, they were hard but they loved their mum.

Bobby (Mark Whalberg) is the head of the family. A once promising ice hockey player who spent a little bit too much time in the sin bin - he then headed for Chicago to manage a strip club leaving the Detroit Police Department breathing a sigh of relief.

Angel (Tyrese Gibson) joined the armed forces and Jack (Garrett Hedlund), the youngest, joined a band. That leaves Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin) better known as Andre 3000 from Outkast. He`s now a family man and a promising property developer.

Fired up by the patchy circumstances surrounding their mother`s death and some apathetic police work, Bobby and Angel drag reluctant Jeremiah and oddball Jack around a few local hoods and their mother`s solicitor for some answers.

Things are just not adding up and Bobby is beginning to lose patience and get a taste for his old ways. Roughing people up and shoving semi-automatic weapons in their mouths comes second nature to him and he`s now determined to see the bigger picture - win or lose.

Video

2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen - Perfect

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1.

Also feature an absolutely top soundtrack from the days when Detroit was at the forefront of producing Motown records. Plenty from Marvin Gaye`s What`s Goin On - Generally regarded as one of the finest albums ever recorded.

Features

Mercer House Shoot Out - 4 minutes

Insight from the director into the best scene in the film includes storyboards, set building and camera techniques.


Crafting Four Brothers -10 mins

Look at how the project came together and the cast were brought on board. Includes
interviews with the director, cast, costume designers and Andre Benjamin in a ridiculous hat.

Behind the Brotherhood - 9mins 30secs

Behind the scenes look at the casts` relationship with each other and the director. Includes interviews with director, cast and Andre Benjamin in a ridiculous hat.

Deleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailer

Conclusion

This is a good film. It`s not great because it has flaws and it`s not bad because it has too much going for it.

The story line is very strong, although Singleton omits nearly all the background information about the leading cast.

We know they were bad eggs but we don`t know why or just what each was capable of.

We also have no idea of how they are now living - other than Jeremiah who remains in Detroit.

I think Singleton must have picked up on this and as an afterthought added flash scenes during the end credits such as Jack performing on stage, doesn`t help once you`ve watched the film though.

These are the main faults of the movie. The only other gripe I have is the situation with Jeremiah`s finances, we become aware of his circumstances and his mother`s involvement but it`s hard to understand and believe it was a motive for someone executing her.

On the other hand, Mark Whalberg turns in a very good performance as the strong, doesn`t give a damn Bobby. He has some funny moments throughout but he is definitely at his best when he`s putting the squeeze on someone. There`s a scene near the end as he makes his way to a fight. He appears in the distance like a lone gunslinger and it could have been very corny but for his facial expression. He`s definitely been practising and it`s certainly goodbye Marky Mark time.

I loved the car chase in the snow blizzard and the shoot-out at the Mercer home. There are also some great sound effects.

When Bobby is shooting at someone who is hanging from a rope out of a window, the guy fires back and you can hear the bullets whizzing past the open window. He also rams a car during the chase and the sound as it flips onto its roof and scrapes along is pure class.

Tyrese Gibson is also good, he and Whalberg hit off each other really well. They definitely make the most convincing hard men and I think it would have been great to see them rough a few more guys up by themselves.

He also has a very hot-tempered Latino girlfriend called Sofi who is played by Sofia Vergara. The former Tom Cruise squeeze does fine even though she spends all her time in the house bitching at either Angel or Bobby.

Garrett Hedlund is slightly under whelming in this in my opinion. What he does in the movie is fine; his character is just not broad enough to make an impact above or even on a par with Whalberg`s.

I know he was hotly tipped after his appearance in Troy and he does remind me of River Phoenix slightly but he didn`t impress me here.

It`s known to the audience that Jack has obviously suffered some kind of abuse in the past, his sexuality is also brought into question and he is left standing doe-eyed after one fight scene. But that`s it really; we don`t know what happened in the past or why he`s the tortured, angst-filled rebel that he is supposed to be.

This probably falls more to Singleton omitting background details but it doesn`t really do Hedlund many favours on screen.


According to an interview featured in the extras he will go to great lengths to remain in character and takes his acting very seriously. Maybe the part was not stretching enough for him then or maybe he was just having a bad hair day.

Andre Benjamin`s character has two sides to him. He very reluctantly helps his brothers but can`t always because of gymnastic commitments. He has two young daughters and a wife who fills his every waking thought and messing with the people responsible for this crime is just too risky.

He`s definitely more convincing as the family man rather than the tough guy. Whalberg has managed to make the cross over to big screen from the music world but he`s had a lot more experience. Benjamin may need a few more attempts under his belt to cause a stir, although he looks so much like Sammy Davis Jr. that I`m sure he`ll be first on the list if they ever make another Cannonball movie.

The real star of this film though is the location. Although filmed in Toronto it`s supposed to be a snow battered Detroit but looks like war-torn Eastern Europe. There are fantastic old churches held up by wooden scaffolding that look like they will fall over if a plane flies a little too low. There also seems to be nothing else around them for miles and this is in the heart of the city. It`s fantastic, the clubs are very retro and the people who frequent them are taken straight from the template for the old blaxploitation movies, even the cops. The clubs and people in them remind me a bit of when Christian Slater goes to visit Gary Oldman in True Romance, also Detroit I think.

Terrence Howard plays Green, the seemingly only trustworthy cop in the entire city. He is excellent as usual, riding high on his top performance in Crash. It`s his look though, there`s something about his face and that pencil thin moustache that makes him perfect in these surroundings.

Good entertaining film this and I loved the fact that we are seeing different surrounding for a change rather than New York again or L.A. - especially when it`s done this well.