Four Brothers - Quattro fratelli

As the Summer is winding down that means a couple things. One is that Fall/Winter feel-good, and more animated movies than you can count are coming to theaters. Also, it also means that the Summer Movies of 05 are closing. HOO-RAYYY!!! But wait hold on, before it is gone one of few good movies sneaks in. It is the new John Singleton movie Four Brothers, and what a good one it is.

Four Brothers is about four adopted degenerates whose mom is murdered and they come back to their old camping ground to, one bury her, and the other, to look for her killers and bury them as well. It starts out fantastic, then loses a little steam, and at the end comes together perfectly to have you talking about it at the water cooler the next day.

Mark Walbergh, Garrett Hedlund, Andre 3000, and Tyrese Gibson play the four brothers and do a fantastic job as playing the delinquents. They really look like they're right out of the mean streets of Michigan. They also act and speak like it as well. So if you're thinking about taking little kiddies (5-12) you might want to make sure they can handle it because there is enough profanity and shooting to go around. So, if you are looking for a good film this Summer, check one out you might pass over called Four Brothers.

I was ready to bet that this was a remake after an older movie. Great 60's and 70's music, the endless theme of the small town terrorized by a villain and the rise to justice of the people involved, Mark Wahlberg... ;)

OK, I am unfair to the man, but it's true isn't it? He is always cast into old looking movies or remakes. I actually like how he is playing. I think that he is a reasonable actor and has potential beyond the action movies in which we've become accustomed to seeing him.

The plot is quite simple: adoptive mother of four and town saint gets killed by thugs. The four brothers kick ass accordingly. But beyond the obvious cliché, the movie was quite good. The actors played well, the feelings were nicely transmitted to the audience and the details were realistic enough and emotion conveying. Actually, for this kind of movie, I am ready to grade high.

The bad thing about this film were the villains. Unconvincing small time crooks that suddenly have the power to hire people with Steyr Augur rifles and other high power weapons. Unconvincing crooked cop who has no motive for actually being corrupt. In the end, the movie is rather relaxing, considering we never meet anything unexpected.

Worth a watch, although I would rate it as a TV movie, to watch in bed, rather than a cinema thing.

If you had ever told me that I would end up really liking a movie starring Marky Mark from the Funky Bunch and the lead singer of Outkast (the perpetrators of one of the most annoying songs in recent history - Hey Ya) then I would've laughed right in your face. Come on, a movie with three rappers (Tyrese throws down the rhymes also, yo!)? There's no way I would've expected that to satisfy my entertainment needs. But I'm man enough to admit that I would've been wrong.

Four Brothers is a gritty, testosterone-fueled crowd pleaser that mixes drama, action, and humor. If you're looking for something light and fluffy then keep on looking because you won't find it here. But if you're in the mood to see some bad guys get pumped full of bullets and fists then this will put a smile on your face. The audience at the screening I attended was clapping and cheering throughout the movie. You'd have thought we were at a wrestling match.

This plays out a bit like a Western. A wrong is done, a posse seeks to get revenge against the wrongdoers, and the wrongdoers are painted in such an unlikable fashion that you're just begging for them to taste a little vigilante justice.

As for the good guys, well, they fall under the "anti-hero" moniker. They aren't scared to sidestep the law in order to get what they're after. But within the context of the movie you can't really blame their motives. Their mother adopted them when nobody else wanted anything to do with them. They were considered lost causes, yet she took them in, gave them a family, and put her faith in them.

They didn't turn out to be saints, but as one cop says, "They're Congressmen compared to what they would've been." Now their mother, just an old lady always trying to do good, is dead and the cops don't seem to be doing anything about it. Wrongs have to be made right, and the brothers decide they're the ones that have to make it right.

This is one of those movies that I figured I'd somewhat enjoy, but I walked out of the theater thinking, "Man, I didn't expect it to be THAT good!" It's rare that I find such a diamond in the rough, so I savor it as if I'm Rob Schneider at a stupid movie convention.

One reason I had my doubts going in was I feared it might be drowned in loud, annoying hip-hop stylings. Plus, every Outkast song I've ever heard has made me want to gouge my eardrums with a letter opener, so I feared the worst from Andre Benjamin. "How annoying is this guy going to be?" I asked myself. But all my fears were unfounded. Instead, we're surrounded by a world of crooked cops, bad guys who wear man-furs, surprisingly good acting, believable chemistry, a couple of subtle twists, and a really cool car chase on ice. I'm always up for a good revenge flick, and I'm happy to report that this one exceeded my expectations.

THE GIST

Are you easily offended by violent revenge flicks? Then use your common sense and skip out on Four Brothers. But if that sounds like your kind of movie then I think you'll find this one works great within the genre.

I've always loved revenge movies, and this one fits the bill because it has four brothers trying to find out the truth of their mother's murder. The four brothers are all superb in their roles, as adopted brothers from foster care that went their separate ways, who come home to find out who killed their mother and why. The 8 minute AOL trailer on the movies sold me. Also superb is Terrence Howard as a Detroit cop who doesn't trust his own who is desperately trying to find out what happened himself. The plot is well executed through twists and turns. Mark Wahlberg just gets better and better. He was great in "Three Kings," and he is better here.

This film deals with four brothers (Mark Wahlberg , Andre Benjamin, Garret Hedlund and Tyrese Gibson) . They reunite one time their mother (Fionnula Flanagan) has been murdered into a grocery store hold-up . But the happenings aren't as predictable as they might understand . Then , they come to revenge and take the law on their own hands . Meanwhile , Lieutenant Green (Terence Howard) and Lt Detective Towler (Josh Charles) are attempting to resolve the case and track down the killers and the four brothers . The investigation of the killing reveals many suspects and dark activities involving to criminal mobster (Chiwetel Esbofor) and Detroit Councilman (Barry Shakaba ), among others.

The picture packs action-packed , intrigue, thrills , and lots of violence and blood . It's an entertaining and suspenseful story, plenty of twists and unexpected turns . Excellent action scenes with noisy shoot-outs and spectacular car races . Interesting and thrilling script based on Haenry Hathaway's ¨The sons of Katie Elder¨. Cool performances by Mark Wahlberg as tough and hard-edged brother and Terence Howard as good police inspector, among them . Almost all of Mark Wahlberg's lines were improvised , Garrett Hedlund had difficulty improvising his lines, so John Singleton and Mark Wahlberg helped him through it . Furthermore , magnificent secondary cast , such as Sofia Vergara , Kenneth Welsh and Barry Shakaba . Glamorous cinematography by Peter Menzies Jr. and stirring musical score fitting to action by David Arnold . The motion picture was well directed by John Singleton . He's a nice director , his first movies were quite thoughtful and brooding (Boyz in the Hood , Poetic justice , Higher learning), but today he usually makes intelligent action films (Fast and Furious 2 , Baby boy , Shaft). The film will appeal to action lovers buffs and Mark Wahlberg fans . Rating : Better than average . Well catching .