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Four Brothers (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:125
Fresh:65
Rotten:60
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Despite striking a believable rapport among its principal actors, Four Brothers overwhelms with ultra-violent, vigilante-glorifying action and devolves into too many fractured, insubstantial thematic directions.
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: 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,... 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. [More]
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard, Josh Charles, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Paul Stewart
Director: John Singleton
Director: John Singleton
Screenwriter: David Elliott, Paul Lovett
Producer: Lorenzo Di Bonaventura
Composer: David Arnold
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Reviews for Four Brothers
O roteiro supera as expectativas do gênero, revelando-se bem amarrado e infinitamente mais complexo do que parece a princípio.
The only performance that kind of works is the one from Chiwetel Ejiofor as the central bad guy.
The brothers take a few moments in reflective nostalgia, then springboard into a film of head banging revenge.
An over-violent and under-sincere story that strays from justice past revenge and into mindless vigilantism.
It's rare that you catch an acclaimed mainstream filmmaker dropping all pretenses and giving in to the desire to make pure pulp.
Along the way, the brothers and their increasingly pathetic adversaries indulge in all manner of licensed or officially overlooked violence, because making things right for your mama is all that matters.
Singleton appears to be having fun. But this is one film that would have earned more emotional resonance with a more serious, or at least focused, approach.
A stylish revenge flick with A-picture performances and direction that obscure its B-picture soul.
John Singelton proves the Western mythos can work just as effectively in an urban setting — that those hoary old cliches can find new life in the hands of a capable filmmaker.
Don't expect to see John Wayne's swagger in the urbanized rendition of "The Sons of Katie Elder."
Unremarkably schizophrenic -- half gritty sojourn into the inner-city furnace, half Hollywood brain death.
The camaraderie of a vintage Wester, "The Sons of Katie Elder," has been ubanized and updated into a violent, amoral revenge saga.
Singleton's style over substance approach is the right way to tell Four Brothers' vengeful story
(Singleton) paces his drama like an hourlong television installment ... with curse words and gratuitous gore.
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