Critic's Grade: C-

Frank's film tip: Four avenging adoptive siblings show no brotherly love when going after the scheming street scum that killed their beloved motherly mentor in John Singleton's stagey yet toothless urban revenge flick FOUR BROTHERS

It's tough to follow up what filmmaker John Singleton has accomplished since his impressive imprint as the youngest director (age 24) ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for his gritty 1991 streetwise saga Boyz N the Hood. Since that audacious beginning, Singleton has been rather uneven in settling for arbitrary urban thrillers that possessed pockets of flashiness but lacked the true vision of tension-filled angst (2000's stylish remake of Shaft and 2003's roguish racing flick 2 Fast 2 Furious comes immediately to mind). In Singleton's latest urban revenge thriller Four Brothers, his sassy narrative plays like a disjointed 70's moody vehicle where displaying toughness on the mean streets is rooted in its usual cliched and conventional mode.

Four Brothers is intentionally modeled after John "The Duke" Wayne's 1965 western fraternal fable The Sons of Katie Elder. Singleton's frenetic exposition tells the tale about adoptive brothers (two sets of white and black siblings) who return home to bury their beloved "stand-in" mother--the patient and loving woman responsible for raising them when they were considered societal throwaway casualties. Unfortunately, 62-year old Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan) was killed in what appeared to be a random liquor store robbery that was completely botched. However, further reviewing of this deadly incident clearly indicates that Evelyn may have been purposely executed as opposed to innocently being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Naturally, the Mercer brothers come back to the old decrepit Detroit neighborhood with their own brand of grieving process in tow. In an effort to find out the dire circumstances behind their adoptive mother's demise, the fearless foursome arrive on the scene with the sordid mentality to spill some gallons of blood on their terms in order to get to the bottom of this personal tragedy. Leading the charge of the returning sibs is hot-tempered Bobby (Mark Wahlberg). Smooth ladies' man and ex-soldier Angel (Tyrese Gibson) joins in on the twisted fun. Respectable family man and savvy business guru Jeremiah (Andre "3000" Benjamin from the musical act Outkast) gets involved as well. Also, the youthful and tattooed rock star wannabe Jack (Garrett Hedlund) follows in the footsteps of his avenging brothers. Together, the Mercer boys are out to collect the scumbags that ended the meaningful life of their cherished inspirational guide.

As the Mercers look for the undesirables that murdered Evelyn, their childhood friend Lt. Green (Hustle & Flow's Terrence Howard) warns them that it is the duty of the police department to launch an investigation and that their vigilante methods aren't going to help matters. Partnered with the sensible black Green is white Detective Fowler (Josh Charles), a shady character in his own right. Feeling an understandable sense of frustration and loss, the Mercers realize that the police force has no control over the seedy streets. Plus, they don't share the vested interest in cracking some serious skulls in the name of the dearly departed and sainted Evelyn Mercer.

While rampaging through the cold-hearted alleyways, the Mercers are forced to keep a close eye on resident crazed and colorful gangster kingpin Victor Sweet (Chiwetel Ejiofor from Pretty Little Things). As if dealing with the eccentric Sweet and corruptive cop Fowler wasn't enough of a distraction for the boys, their personal lives add to the animated mix. Angel is emotionally wrapped up with his boisterous on-again, off-again loony-minded Latina girlfriend Sofi (Sofia Vergara) who brings instant dissention to the brothers' looming agenda. Camille (Taraji P. Henson) is Jeremiah's concerned wife who doesn't want her focused husband to become too wayward and abandon his moral principles to appease the recklessness of his brothers' influence.

Four Brothers was probably meant to be an action-oriented piece that embraced the concept of redemption as its soulful core. Singleton knows how to accentuate the flourishes of an actioner and relies on the stand-by premise of outrageous shootouts and exaggerated car chases in an awkward effort to capture the essence of his fiery flick. However, the moviemaker fails to let the film resonate with genuine emotional depth pertaining to the sketchy characterizations. While it's admirable for Singleton to paint his portrait in black-and-white overtones thus showing the good and evil that each side maintains, the interracial aspect feels conveniently gimmicky and only clicks as a forced afterthought. Most of the so-called riveting chase scenes--both car and on foot--are murky and indistinguishable and really is nothing distinctive that you haven't seen countless times before.

Although the quartet of lead actors are charismatic and portray the conviction of brotherhood with a touch of flair and fury, the material is not flexible enough to convey the clumsy offering of sentimentality and sensationalistic violence to uplift this movie as an introspective crime-ridden caper. The supporting cast is curiously lost in the shuffle. Howard is given a thankless filler role as the Mercer brothers' law enforcing conscience from the past. Ejiofor is overwrought as a cartoonish crime lord in his ruthlessness as Detroit's top badass. Screenwriters David Elliot and Paul Lovett merely go with the flow and concoct a scattershot script that scrapes at the raw surface of racial/economic class alienation and allegiance.

Surprisingly, Singleton's Four Brothers doesn't have the cohesive rhythmic pulse and pizzazz that was abundantly demonstrated in his producing credits for Craig Brewer's probing debut drama Hustle & Flow. Clearly, Singleton shows no original or resourceful brotherly love for helming a transparent revenge-seeking rouser with all the psychological complexity and bluntness of a rusty sledgehammer.

Frank rates this film: ** stars (out of 4 stars)

All Reviews by Frank Ochieng [Home page]
If you are the author of this review, you may edit it by signing in.