Four Brothers

FOUR BROTHERS

by Bobbi Dempsey, guest reviewer

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, and some sexual content. 148 minutes. Directed by John Singleton. Written by David Elliot and Paul Lovett. Released in theaters August 12, 2005.

Note from Jane: Bobbi Dempsey is a veteran celebrity journalist, and we're blessed to have her presence on this site. She attended the premiere of Four Brothers in Boston, and the photo at the end of this review was taken by her.

This movie centers around four brothers who return to their hometown of Detroit to avenge their mother's murder. The brothers are bad boy Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), ladies' man Angel (Tyrese Gibson), sensitive musician Jack (Garrett Hedlund) and Andre Benjamin (a.k.a. Andre 3000 of Outkast), who plays family man Jeremiah.

All four brothers were adopted, which explains why two are black and two are white. Their mother, Evelyn Mercer, helped place hundreds of kids in foster homes, but these four were so bad she couldn't convince anyone to take them, so she raised them herself.

The movie starts off with a bang, literally. Wahlberg said he fought to keep the film's R rating, and it's a rating well-deserved. There is *a lot* of cursing and shooting -- the kind where people actually get killed, not the TV variety where characters display an amazing ability to dodge an onslaught of bullets. Without giving away too much, I will tell you that at least one major character -- in addition to the mom -- gets killed. It's a violent film.

In their defense, the filmmakers clearly made this point in the ads/previews, so the audience shouldn't be too surprised. There are also a few moments where the violence happens swiftly, unexpectedly and often loudly, so you might find yourself gasping a few times.

Although there are only a few brief sexual scenes (involving Gibson's character), there is a lot of sexually-related talk, mainly in the form of obscenities. Wahlberg's character doesn't have a girlfriend, though. This was his idea -- he fought with producers about it, because he felt it would detract from the story.

Given all the action and violence, this is a movie that would probably be considered more of a "guy flick." But somebody in the casting department was clearly using their head -- by putting attractive actors in the lead roles, they ensured a strong female audience, too.

The story is engaging and dramatic, and there are a surprising number of funny moments, such as one scene in the bathroom while Wahlberg is sitting on the toilet. Hint: his isn't the only naked butt you'll see in that scene.

THE GOOD: Non-stop action, drama and a good story. Great performances from all the actors. The lead actors all have good chemistry together.

THE BAD: Lots of cursing and violence. One fatality is especially heart-wrenching. This is definitely not a film for the kids.

SUMMARY: A good action flick, with surprisingly good performances from all actors, some of whom are fairly new to the game. There's no mistaking the fact that Wahlberg is clearly intended to be the star of this film, but all the lead actors mesh well together, making the story more believable. Probably one of the better action flicks so far this year, and definitely one of Wahlberg's best performances.