Four Brothers (5/10 Rating)

Released August 12, 2005

Streaming on Paramount+, For rent/purchase on all major platforms.

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

R: strong violence, pervasive language, and some sexual content

1h 49m

            I remember seeing trailers for Four Brothers and thinking it could be entertaining, but it was likely just another action crime movie, so I never took the time to watch. I honestly was hoping to watch this and somehow be surprised, but it was in fact pretty generic and predictable. The characters are not fleshed out at all. The setup is there for a meaningful revenge story, but it all just feels lazy. Four of the most challenging foster kids are adopted by the local foster mother hero and raised together. She gets murdered. They come together to uncover the real motives behind her killing. The whole thing, from characters to plot, feels like a Mad Lib of clichés. Nothing is shocking. They are likeable enough, and the bad guys are bad enough, but it’s all pretty boring. I don’t buy that these guys grew up together because there is no depth to any of them. A better film would have followed them in their younger years and let us get hooked on their bond, then had “mom” die shockingly, leaving us all in on the revenge of the third act. Perchance. Directed by the late John Singleton, this film seems to have the financial backing and a nice collection of stars but lacks the grittiness of Boyz n the Hood and doesn’t seem to have as much to say. It is not bad. It’s just easy. Actors are reading lines that likely sounded cool on paper, but all fall flat spoken on screen. The soundtrack is probably the best part, featuring The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, and The Temptations. There is a decent shootout scene, but the response by police is so absurd you immediately want to roll your eyes. There are also too many characters and story arcs. We should spend time with the four brothers, and that should be it. We don’t need to build up the villain… he had a sweet old neighborhood hero murdered. That’s all we need. Twists are easy to spot. The pacing is off. Dramatic moments are breezed over, while less important scenes drag on. If you want a low-pressure revenge story, this is a nice Saturday afternoon background movie, but don’t expect anything memorable… except for that glorious Mark Wahlberg swagger as he walks slowly toward the camera surrounded by nothing but snow and ice.  I also checked out Wes Craven’s Red Eye this month, and it left a similar impact. If you have not seen it and want a low-pressure thriller, it might be worth a watch, but it is nothing spectacular.  

Also released in August 2025: Broken Flowers, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Skeleton Key, The 40 Year-old Virgin, Red Eye, The Brothers Grimm, The Cave, The Constant Gardener