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Movies / On DVD / Four Brothers
Four Brothers

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Four Brothers (2005)

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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

[See More Credits]

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    Four Brothers Trailer
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    Exclusive Clip: "My Real Brothers"
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    Exclusive Clip: "Out The Window"
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  • Exclusive Clip With Video Commentary
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    Exclusive Clip "They Set Mom Up"
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Reviews for Four Brothers

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101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

John Singleton gets a slow burn going in his inner-city Western Four Brothers but then the movie fizzles into something generic and disappointing.

Full Review Source: Des Moines Register | comment Comment
08/12/05
Jeffrey Bruner
Jeffrey Bruner
Des Moines Register

One can only wonder if Four Brothers would have gone from good to great if Singleton balanced the exit wounds with something more than skin deep.

Full Review Source: Richmond.com | comment Comment
08/12/05
Mike Ward
Mike Ward
Richmond.com

The Mercer boys go from heartbroken to breaking heads in an instant and never look back or, heaven forbid, pause for a moment of character development.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
08/12/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

A good film buried under heaps of excess.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
08/12/05
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Singleton fills the screen with moody darkness (but) Four Brothers falls apart completely in the last act.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
08/12/05
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

There’s nothing terribly deep here, but we get caught up in the relationships among the brothers, and their intense loyalty to each other and the memory of their mother.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
08/12/05
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Four Brothers is one of those good movies that surprises you as you think you have it figured out, but it goes for the comic relief too much.

Full Review Source: WaffleMovies.com | comment Comment
08/11/05
Willie Waffle
Willie Waffle
WaffleMovies.com

Singleton, who has never managed to make a movie that didn’t fall completely apart, does Brothers a great favor by sticking so close to the lunacy.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
08/11/05
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

a balls-out revenge tale

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/11/05
Annette Cardwell
Annette Cardwell
Filmcritic.com

An unremarkable, mediocre remake of John Wayne’s “The Sons of Katie Elder” without Wayne's charisma and with an ending that is not credible.

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
08/11/05
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com

Lays on the thug-life testosterone with a trowel ... a marathon Grand Theft Auto session, without the redeeming hand-eye coordination development.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
08/11/05
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Four Brothers excels at following revenge-movie guidelines, and not much else. An above-average cast can't hide its B-movie pedigree.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
08/11/05
Paul Doro
Paul Doro
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Just another step on [Singleton's] march to Hollywood anonymity.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
08/11/05
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

[Four Brothers] is a vengeance-is-mine flick but one that is packed with drama, action and humor.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
08/11/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Mark Wahlberg delivers a cocky performance capped with hilarious put downs and gives the film its grounding as the clan's impetuous older brother

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
08/11/05
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

An unsavory and unsatisfying blend of bone-splintering sadism and doofus slapstick comedy.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
08/11/05
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Four Brothers revels in its own testosterone.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
08/11/05
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

Four Brothers is several movies in one slick, stressed vehicle, its hard-grinding gears meshing with infectious gusto and rough-and-tumble vigor.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
08/11/05
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

[Four Brothers] 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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
08/11/05
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Call Four Brothers a guilty pleasure....Singleton may go for easy laughs, but he gets them; the gut-level jolts may be ridiculous, but he delivers them (with style).

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
08/11/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
 
 
101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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