Movies

Four Brothers Review

Some may disagree, I think this is the one fo the best movies of the summer. I've seen all the big hits (several flops too) and this movie was by far the best of all of them.

It has an excellent cast. All four of the brothers play their parts perfectly, and Singleton directed a compelling character driven, well written story. Wahlberg does well as the tough guy, Andre 3000 (of Outkast fame) does an excellent job as the only brother who made something of himself and Tyrese and Garrett Hedlund are great as the ex-Marine and failed rock star respectively.

There is lots of action, but not gratuitous let's blow stuff up for the sake of blowing stuff up. Each action scene drives the characters to discover something new in the murder of their mother.

There is plenty of humour too, just like in any tight family, everyone has their foibles that are relentlessly dissected and hit upon. The singer, Jack, takes the brunt of the ribbing, but his brothers' love for him comes out in the huge hit 2/3 through the movie.

The characterization is powerful and one of the strongest scenes in the movie is when the four sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, without their mother, and she appears in flashbacks, gently chiding them and/or encouraging them.