Four Brothers DVD Review

"FOUR BROTHERS" reviews

DVD

FOUR BROTHERS

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-02-02 16:55:40

Provider

DVD Review

John Singleton's revenge thriller stars Mark Wahlberg as one of the eponymous siblings intent on tracking down those responsible for the murder of their adopted mother. Set in a Detroit that has more in common with the wild west than the frozen north, Singleton (still best known for the groundbreaking Boyz N The Hood) tells a story that owes much to the uncomplicated morality of Hong Kong cinema.

Wahlberg's brothers are OutKast's Andre Benjamin (a better rapper, but inferior actor to the one-time Marky Mark), who plays the quartet's lone family man, Tyrese Gibson as the ladykiller Angel and Garrett Hedlund as wannabe rock star Jack. Wahlberg himself plays Bobby, hardheaded and just out of jail and the first to realise their mother's killing "wasn't no gang shooting, it was an execution!" The deeper they delve, the clearer it becomes that the man responsible is crime lord Victor Sweet (Chiwetel Ejiofor proving Britain can supply black as well as white villains).

Surprisingly though, Singleton, whose early films were mostly character driven, fails to develop the relationship between the brothers. Instead, he relishes the non-stop violence dished out against the gangsters and useless, corrupt police officers, without ever really commanding the sympathy of the viewers. What we get is a routine action thriller whose every thread leads, inevitably, into another outburst of hi-tech gunplay. If your appetite for watching bad guys getting offed is insatiable, then you'll find Four Brothers passable entertainment. If you hope for something more than bangs, crashes and villains going up in flames, then Four Brothers is one family reunion best avoided.

DVD also Includes commentary by director John Singleton, The Look of Four Brothers, Crafting Four Brothers, Behind The Brotherhood, Mercer House Shootout and deleted scenes.