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When their adoptive mother is killed in cold blood during a liquor store robbery, the multi-racial Mercer brothers set out on the cold streets of Detroit for revenge. Soon they discover their mother's murder was no mistake - but what could she possibly have done to make someone want to kill her?
There was a time when John Singleton was the hottest young director on the block; Oscar nominated for his debut production at the age of just twenty-three. "Boyz in the Hood" garnered plaudits for its sensitive portrayal of the experience of young black men and the pressures inherent in their lives in the tough South Central district of LA. However, it seems to have been downhill all the way ever since, plagiarising himself in films like "Higher Learning" and "Poetic Justice" and finally tossing away any remaining credibility with the dire cars and Z-list stars vehicle "2 Fast 2 Furious". Sadly "Four Brothers is symptomatic of his continuing decline, glorifying violence and condoning vigilantes in this paper thin revenge actioner. At best it can be said to be a paean to the exploitation movies of the 1970s. However, it feels like a step back for the director whose seminal work suggested that retribution isn't the same as redemption, whereas here he positively encourages eye-for-eye tactics, to exclusion of everything else. He discards any attempts at characterisation early on (though they oddly seem to have been reinserted during the end credits) leaving us with a bunch of entirely unsympathetic main protagonists whose sole motivation is blind revenge without any recourse to more
traditional means of justice first. Their relationship to their adoptive mother smacks of oedipal inclinations thanks to the poor handling of her ghostly appearances at the dinner table that suggest she's flirting with them in a most inappropriate manner. However, this doesn't stop them from being incredibly schmaltzy, jarring badly with the brutal violence of the rest of the film. What I will say for the director is that he has assembled a cast with real rapport. Though the brothers are unlikeable, their fraternal banter and verbal abuse feels realistic, even if the characters do not. Similarly the action sequences are competently shot with plenty of excitement, but with no emotional centre to the film, they lack bite. Who cares which characters die when they are so badly written?
The screenplay by newcomers David Elliott and Paul Lovett is a terrible mishmash of action sequences stitched together by the thinnest of plots. In many ways it feels like a wish fulfilment revenge fantasy; attempting to find inventive ways of torturing those who have hurt you. However, the writers soon run out of ideas and we're back to gunplay and expletives. There is the briefest hint of intrigue when the detectives first turn up and it looks as though they may be a sort of chorus, narrating the story for the audience, but this concept is soon dropped. The character development is so minimal it's virtually non-existent, with each brother appearing like aspects of the same personality rather than full blown individuals, while the introduction of a spectral character delivering sage yet hackneyed advice from beyond the grave is trite and grates from the moment the device rears its ugly head. As is the insistence on a happy families ending that is at total odds with the preceding action. The pacing is badly affected by abrupt shifts in tone that favour the action set-pieces over the potentially more interesting odd sibling storyline. The dialogue tries to be cutting edge and down with the kids, but is nothing more than poorly written gangster speak and profanities that do little to build the characters or endear any of them to us. The only convincing aspect is the brother baiting banter between siblings. The final nail in the film's coffin is the decision to set the climax on a frozen lake, presumably to add a little flash to the otherwise gritty settings, it goes a step too far and ends up in Bond territory but without the tongue firmly in cheek. The moral of the story appears to be that the family that slays together stays together, giving it the same ethos as Rob Zombie's movies but without the sense of invention.
Former underwear model Mark Wahlberg seems to think that a greasy barnet and a crappy leather jacket are appropriate substitutes for characterisation in his role as Bobby Mercer. He spends the majority of the movie squinting and crumpling his brow in the mistaken belief that this makes him a) rugged and manly and b) suitably dangerous. To be frank, I've found more menacing things in my lunchbox and his lisping delivery and one note performance do nothing to endear him or the character to me. Garrett Hedlund is supposed to be Hollywood's new "It" boy, though on the basis of his performance as Jack Mercer, it's hard to understand why. He's supposed to be sensitive and emotionally scarred, but comes across as a bit wet and stupid. Much of this is down to bad scripting, but a little decent acting might have helped. Frankly his performance is about as convincing as his ever shifting tattoos. I'm not sure why Tyrese Gibson's character exists. Presumably ladies man Angel is supposed to sex things up a bit and add a touch of romance, but fails because he has so little to do. Outkast's Andre Benjamin continues a roll of surprisingly warm and accomplished performances as sensible brother Jeremiah. He's the closest thing to a likeable character but disappears for great chunks of time and is constantly undermined by poor writing.
Chiwetel Ejiofor steals Brian Cox's crown as ubiquitous British actor of the year as bad guy Victor Sweet. Given the appalling script and a character arc that would make a panto villain blush, he has a surprisingly good time hamming it up for the camera. Subtle it is not, practically leaving tooth-marks on the surrounding scenery.
The score by David Arnold and Ed Shearmur feels too big for this film, full of pumping bass and 1970s style cop show themes. There are plenty of syncopated jazz drums, though the anticipated wock-a-chocking guitars never make an appearance. Sappy alto sax and sentimental strings continue to riff on lo-fi 70s soul stylings, ably backed up by Motown classics of the era. It's not a bad soundtrack, but it suffers by association with the movie.
The only problem with the action sequences is that Singleton can't decide on a consistent style for them, alternating down-and-dirty with slick and shiny. His snowbound car chase through the backwoods of Detroit is in stark contrast to the computer game shoot-em-up style of the destruction of Mama Mercer's gaff. Certainly the stunt driving can't be faulted and the gunplay is confidently choreographed and performed (if a little casual for my tastes), but they seem wasted on such a poorly conceived film.
"Four Brothers" may be the nadir of John Singleton's career, showing none of the visual flair or love of storytelling that characterised his first film. It is a travesty of writing, acting and direction that feels like a sordid glorification of brutality in the guise of justice. I felt like my intelligence was being insulted as I watched it - are audiences really stupid enough to believe that the characters are justified in their actions? Sadly the box office returns suggest so. As does the fact the viewers are willing to sit through nearly two hours of overblown yet undercooked action. So remember; those who kill little old ladies must be hunted down and killed in grisly ways, instead of being tried by a jury of their peers. Hell, if we're all going to bypass the judicial system, I'm off to hand out some home-made parking tickets…
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Production Year: 2003 - Action/Adventure - Director: John Singleton - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring:Paul Walker, Eva Mendes, Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser, Ludacris, James Remar, Devon Aoki
Production Year: 1995 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Allie Byrne, Oliver Cotton, Emily Mortimer, Michael Cochrane
Action & Adventure - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Melissa George, Ron Rifkin, Jennifer Garner, Ricky Gervais, Quentin Tarantino
Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Bound by love for their slain adoptive mother, the brothers inFour Brothersform a unique ... more
quartet that gives John Singleton's film a razor's edge of redemption. It's a thin edge, to be sure, because while Singleton's urban Western pays homage to the Bla...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Bound by love for their slain adoptive mother, the brothers inFour Brothersform a unique ... more
quartet that gives John Singleton's film a razor's edge of redemption. It's a thin edge, to be sure, because while Singleton's urban Western pays homage to the Bla...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
After their adoptive mother is murdered during a grocery store holdup, the Mercer brothers ... more
- hotheaded Bobby (Mark Wahlberg). ladies' man Angel (Tyrese Gibson), family man and businessman Jeremiah (Andrenjamin), and hard rocking Jack (Garrett Hedlund) ...
![Four Brothers [DVD] [2005]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78489205.jpg "Four Brothers [DVD] [2005]")
Nov 8th, 2005
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