John Singleton is back to Directing films that he can hang is hat on. With credits in including Boyz n The Hood, Poetic Justice, and Higher Learning, Singleton is finally back with a film that does credit to his abilities. With Four Brothers, we have a film that is both intriguing and dramatic in its presentation and execution. Constructed without the big budgets that Directors such as Bruckheimer and Bay get, he nonetheless comes through with what I feel to be a diamond in the rough. A diamond in the sense that there were some great moments in the film, but there was also one area that I thought could have used some subtle improvements. Crafted as a revenge film of sorts, four brothers have returned home to the funeral of their adopted mother. These four are just a few of the kids that this woman has helped over the years, and they have a deep attachment to her that goes beyond love. She was the light in all of their lives, and without he they have no idea what to do; but they do know that they aren’t going to sit idly by while an inept police force follows up on the leads.

Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garret Hedlund fall into the roles of the 4 brothers perfectly, and I think this is where Singleton made some great decisions when it came to casting. Out of the 4, Wahlberg is the only really good actor, but it doesn’t matter, because giving the roles to people who could bring out realism in their character was more important to the film that having a A-list actor in all of the parts. So, yes Wahlberg is at times forced to carry the movie on his own, but it is a light load, because the material is strong enough to stand up on its own at most times. Conducting a preliminary “investigation” of their own, the 4 brothers discover that this is more than a convenience-store hold-up gone awry. Getting to the bottom of the situation becomes the only thing that these 4 men care about, and they are willing to break the law to the point that they find justice in their own eyes. It’s not going to be easy though, because Detroit is dreary, and it seems that people only want them to fail in their quest for information. But armed with the toughness that their mother had kept in check for so long, they are going to use every bit of strength they have to bring the killers to their own type of justice.

Not knowing where the film is going, or what will happen next, is a trait that Singleton has put into all of his films that involve the street. This one is no different, as we are shown the dark side of Detroit that seems to have more control of the city than people would want to believe. Even the police force seems to be working against the brothers, despite the fact that they have an old friend who has made it on to the force as a detective. This detective is played by one of the up-and-comers in Hollywood; Terrence Dashon Howard. He is the lead in Hustle and Flow, and you may remember him as the band-member from Ray who had introduced him to drugs. Truly a great actor in the making, and this film helps to showcase some of the things that he will have to offer films for years to come. The only downside I found to his part in the movie was that I felt he wasn’t used enough, and his talents could have been taken better advantage of. But, the film was really about the 4 brothers, and I can understand why Singleton didn’t want to give up their screen time to further develop a supporting character. Although, I did think that to be a flaw in the movie, because this woman had taken care of so many children over the years, but we weren’t given the chance to see the ones that had become successful. Instead we are only treated to seeing the “bad seeds” of the bunch.

Four Brothers is a very fast paced film that delivers action sequences and dramatic scenes at just about ever turn of the film. There won’t be an audience member who finds this movie boring, and if you found yourself a big fan of Boyz n The Hood, then this will be a winner for you as well. Don’t get hung up on Andre 3000 being cast in his first role as one of the brothers, or by the fact that Garrett Hedlund seems to himself be a little lost in the role as the fourth brother. They both play their roles well in the end, and they may be raw when it comes to acting prowess, but it doesn’t take away from the film itself. At the beginning of the review I had mentioned that I thought there was a singular part of the movie that I felt could have used a little improvement, and for me that would be the end of the movie. Where the entire film succeeds on its “grittiness”, the ending seemed to miss a little of what had made the rest of the film so intriguing. It could have been me looking for a specific resolution to the story, or there could have been something small missing from the climax that I just cannot put my finger on. The “small something” isn’t enough for me to not recommend a film that undercuts all of its action counterparts in the theaters, because it deals with reality, and doesn’t make its heroes out to be the clean-cut people that most films will do. Liken it to the television show “The Shield”, and you know what you are getting in to. I do recommend this film as a pause to the blockbusters that have littered the landscape, and I hope that it has success to math many of them.





Recommended: Yes