Welcome to A-Z Movie Reviews. Every Sunday, for the next several months, I will be posting a review of a film in my home movie collection. How it works is, I will be reviewing movies in alphabetical order until I get to the letter Z (Yes, I do have a film that ends in Z). Now I realize there are many ways to alphabetize a film collection, but this is mine so don’t judge me. This is simply for fun.
I’m a big fan of the late John Singleton and his work. He’s done so many phenomenal films over the years that have resonated for years. For this week’s installment of A-Z Movie Reviews I’m talking about one of my favorites, Four Brothers starring Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garrett Hedlund.
What it’s about:
When their adoptive mother is gunned down in a store robbery the ‘four brothers’ investigate the murder for themselves & look for the killers, but not all is what it seems.
What I love about Four Brothers is although its an action film, it’s about much more than that. The main theme of this story is brotherhood and that family doesn’t have to be blood related. Bobby (Wahlberg), Angel (Gibson), Jerry (Benjamin), and Jack (Hedlund) were all adopted but they love and treat each other like real brothers. The whole time I watch this film I just look at all of the guys like they’re a real family. Nothing ever makes me look at them and question the validity of their relationship.
Four Brothers is also a story about grief and finding peace. After the boys adoptive mother Evelyn (Fionnula Flanagan) is murdered, they’re all struggling with her loss. Each of them are grieving in their own way and I think John Signleton captured it beautifully. In one particular scene, the guys are having dinner and as they sit at the table, each one of them sees Evelyn (Flanagan) in the way that they remember her. Each one gets a different version of the mom they knew. The only one who doesn’t see her is Bobby (Wahlberg) which is a perfect way to indicate he’s avoiding the fact that she is truly gone and he doesn’t want to face it.
Bobby distracts himself by working to find out what truly happened to their mom. He, Angel, Jerry, and Jack all find out that she was set up to be murdered so they work together to get the justice they know she deserves. It’s not without challenges. Despite all of that, they never stop because Evelyn never gave up on them.
I think John Singleton was a great storyteller (see Boyz n the Hood) and his films always make you think. Four Brothers has a great cast and this film is one I highly recommend.
Other Thoughts
- The dinner scene will always get me. Every single time. Garrett Hedlund breaks my heart.
- Seriously, I love Garrett Hedlund in this film. Jack is my favorite.
- Some of the things Bobby (Wahlberg) says, especially to Angels (Gibson) girlfriend Sofi (Sofia Vergara), I CANNOT.
- The scene with Angel being the annoying brother bugging Jerry in the family room as Bobby sits by and watches, is just so adorable to me. It’s what family is all about. It’s such a simple moment but always makes me smile.
- Yes, Black people can play hockey too.
- I love Josh Charles even though he’s a huge dick in this movie. He’s always been handsome to me.
- Chwetel Ejiofor is such a good actor and he’s really good at playing bad guys.
- Ummm Lieutenant Green (Terrence Howard), if you’re going to confront a dirty cop, don’t do it alone and maybe do a pat down, matter fact, wait till you’re actually in the office to do it.
What do you say? Do you want to see this movie? Feel free to share with us in the comments below!
Four Brothers is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
