Four Brothers (Widescreen) (2005)

"Action, emotion, passion and a great story.  Fred Saxon, FOX-TV

Editor's Note When their beloved foster mother is killed in a holdup, four tough brothers reunite in their old Detroit neighborhood with revenge on their minds. Mark Wahlberg plays the brawl-hungry leader, Bobby. His brother, Angel (Tyrese Gibson), is a rowdy sailor with a high-strung Latina girlfriend (Sofi Vergara). Garrett Hedlun plays the young rock & roller of the clan. And Outkast's Andre 3000 is the family man whose tenuous mob connection may link him to the killers. Director John Singleton ably blends his action skills (SHAFT, 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS) and his gift for capturing the warm heart at the center of violent urban masculinity (BABY BOY, BOYZ N THE HOOD) to create a cooked-to-perfection gangsta stew. A soundtrack jammed with 1970s Motown classics roots everything firmly in the gritty tradition of the best of that decade's blaxploitation and urban revenge thrillers. Action highlights include a skidding car chase through snowy streets, some rough street hockey, and a bullet-intensive neighborhood shoot-out. With its talented, likeable cast, clever plotting, and sharp dialogue, this is a real crowd-pleaser that nonetheless doesn't shy away from depictions of street violence. There's not an ounce of fat on it--no extraneous romance, and no going "straight" at the end. Terrence Howard (HUSTLE & FLOW) is the well-meaning but ineffectual detective who tries to put a lid on the boys' rebelliousness. The spirits of Dirty Harry and Charles Bronson should be proud, and action fans will be well pleased.

	Andre Benjamin
	Garrett Hedlund
	Mark Wahlberg
	Tyrese Gibson
	Billy Fox, et. al. - Editor
	David Arnold, et. al. - Original Music By
	David Elliot, et. al. - Writer
	Erik Howsam, et. al. - Executive Producer
	John Singleton - Director
	Keith Brian Burns - Production Designer
	Lorenzo di Bonaventura - Producer
	Peter Menzies, Jr. - Cinematographer

USA Today
"[S}olidly entertaining....BROTHERS works only on a larger-than-life level. But on that level, the zest is back." 08/12/2005 p.15D

Uncut
3 stars out of 5 -- "[L]ifted above remake status by Singleton's claustrophobic action sequences and Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance..." 03/01/2006 p.134

Rolling Stone 6 of 10
What holds us are the actors, including Terrence Howard as a cop who grew up with the brothers. Howard's ferocity and feeling remind us of his let's-talk-Oscar tour de force in Hustle and Flow, which Singleton produced -- and which radiates an authenticity that Four Brothers loses along the way. - Peter Travers

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
John Singleton's Four Brothers is an urban Western, or maybe it's an urban movie inspired by a Western; either way, it's intended to be more mythic than realistic. It connects with underlying moral currents in the way Westerns used to, back before greed, fear, anger and "society" provided action movies with all the motivation they needed. - Roger Ebert