Four Brothers (2005)

Very well executed

Too much of everything

People are voting emotionally.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Four Brothers (2005): Dir: John Singleton / Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard: Family is the theme of this film although vengeance certainly plays a factor as four adopted brothers (two white, two black) return home for their mother's funeral after she was murdered during a robbery. They seek justice and vengeance setting out to solve the case themselves. Unfortunately revenge seems to be the norm yet the screenplay details their search and establishes the bond that unites them. Directed by John Singleton who often makes films about urban society with violent undertones as he did with Baby Boy and Boyz N the Hood. Mark Wahlberg heads the cast returning with a bad reputation and a taste for vengeance. Tyrese Gibson is superb as the brother involved with a feisty Spanish woman. Andre Benjamin is a family and business person. Garrett Hedlund plays the gay brother seeking refuge in music. Their anger is understandable and their desire for justice seems to be a never ending plea even in reality but when revenge plays a factor a film risks the wrong sort of entertainment delivery and warps any potential message. Other roles are standard issue from the investigating cops warning the boys, to the villain who will get pummeled in due time. In the end this film is well made but its take on revenge sidelines a bond between brothers. Score: 6 ½ / 10

The acting wasn't bad, but the directing was, unfortunately, sub-par; I actually stopped watching the movie a little over half-way because my 'willing suspension of disbelief' just could not sustain any more.Two quick examples: 1) when the councilman gets into his car, he somehow doesn't notice the smashed back window; 2) when the councilman has his tie pulled at the table, he gives a choking sound, but the tie is not tight at all - it is loose, in fact.There are other examples, but I'm not giving any more energy to this movie.I'm actually shocked since Singleton has done some good work prior to this movie.

Four adopted brothers (Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund) reunites when their mother gets shot in a convenient store holdup. Only they find that she may have been targeted. Terrence Howard and Josh Charles play cops, and watch out for Sofía Vergara as a loud girlfriend.The four guys have an easy flowing relations. They have the brotherly chemistry down. Once you get that, the movie is a lot more easy. The story is straight out of any action B-movie. It has a few too many coincidences, a few too many simplifications, and a few too many easy explanations. But John Singleton has given it enough energy to raise it above everyday violent thriller.

This is a great modern twist on the John Wayne and Dean Martin classic - "The Sons of Katie Elder." Loved Mark Wahlberg's update of John Wayne's character, Outcast's Andre 3000 is great with his take on Dean Martin's character, and Garret Hedlund's take on Michael Anderson Jr's original is simply masterful. The teasing of Jack Mercer is a dead ringer to that of Bud Elder. The direction is outstanding and it is almost exactly identical of Henry Hathaway's where he just let the actors "do what they do" and the dialogue will just developed naturally. I absolutely recommend seeing this movie as well as "The Sons of Katie Elder."