John Singleton handles this powerful urban drama with deft skill, catapulting a simple revenge tale into something far more effective. Mark Wahlberg leads a fantastic cast in an emotional and twisting story of brothers uniting to take revenge for their mother’s murder. With a proper mix of comedy, involving emotional links, and beautifully choreographed action sequences, Four Brothers is a total success.
Most importantly, the film plays out naturally, immediately building the lead characters via numerous scenes of their bonding as they come together under extreme circumstances. Their choices in life have rarely been the right ones, yet their adoptive mother instilled enough values so that they’re collected during intense circumstances. Dialogue exchanges between the four lead cast members (Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garret Hedlund along with Wahlberg) make it seem as if they truly grew up together.
Set against a bleak Detroit backdrop, the story finds means to become loaded with underlying depth, and countless false leads as to the person behind the killings keep the viewer locked onto the screen. Two major action sequences highlight the film’s harsh side, including a house shootout that exists as a centerpiece to the story, not a cheap excuse to fire off some bullets. It provides an extra emotional impact exactly where it was needed in terms of the story.
Four Brothers' few faults include a rather cheesy finale with Wahlberg’s character appearing from nowhere in a manner that is horribly played out. Also, the leader of small crime syndicate (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) is weakly developed at best. His means of punishment are to embarrass, hardly showcasing him as a cold-hearted killer the film wants him to be. These bits of comedy are especially jarring as the film pushes further into drama territory and the brothers begin closing in.
The film is saved by script writers David Elliot and Paul Lovett's talents, along with some of Singleton’s best directorial work since Boyz n the Hood. Brothers is wisely a character drama first, and an action movie second. You find yourself cheering for the vigilantes, and it’s not for the cut and dried reason that their mother was killed. It’s their actions and how they’re portrayed, a wonderful accomplishment that could have been a disaster if not handled properly. 
Four Brothers comes to HD DVD with a clean transfer, marred by some noticeable and heavy compression. The solid, deep red walls of the Mercer brother’s homes are filled with overly heavy artifacting. Film grain is also visible dependent on the scene. However, this HD transfer is strong elsewhere, particularly during the car chase in heavy snow in which every flake can be picked out. Facial detail is remarkable, and black levels remain rich throughout. 
Article comments