Four Brothers (R)
Mike:
Scott:
Scott: Tonight we are reviewing Four Brothers
starring Mark Wahlberg and Tyrese Gibson. A movie about four dysfunctional brothers coming together after their adopted mother is slain in a convenience store robbery. What are your thoughts on this movie?
Mike: I don't know how to classify this movie.
Scott: It's tough. It's pretty violent, but also has some good humor.
Mike: It's like a modern day cowboy movie. It's like it's a revenge comedy.
Scott: I guess it's a bit like Payback with Mel Gibson in that sense. The good guys really aren't that good, just better than the bad guys.
Mike: But they are in the sense that if someone killed your mother, wouldn't you want revenge? It's like a fantasy of what people would want to do, but never would. It's not over the top, either. It's played pretty realistically.
Scott: Yet, there is no remorse, no real consequences to their actions though. That is different than real life.
Mike: There are consequences, just not the ones that would probably happen in real life. People definitely die and stay dead.
Scott: I was a bit skeptical of this movie from the previews, I didn't want to see it, and I figured I would not like it.
Mike: I figured it could go either way, because I'm not really a fan of revenge movies.
Scott: It looked like a tough guy movie, and for the most part, you know how they go. But it's not always about the destination, but about the ride.
Mike: I liked the cast and the fact that John Singleton, who did a great job with Boyz n the Hood, and the update of Shaft with Samuel L. Jackson, directed it.
Scott: Never saw Shaft. Boyz n the Hood was good though.
Mike: I would watch Samuel L. read the phone book, but that's a different story... Back to this movie, the ride is pretty good and it is not completely predictable. They throw in a few curves to keep you on your toes.
Scott: First, Mark Walhberg, as Bobby Mercer, is a good, but confused, good guy. Of course I like him as an actor, so it's no surprise I like him in this.
Mike: I liked the way, that even though this cast seems like an unlikely set of brothers, they play it as if they really did grow up together. I like to see Marky Mark in a movie. Boogie Nights baby!
Scott: The brothers acted like they grew up together, a nice joking attitude played between them, they settled into their roles as brothers well. The other three main leads, Tyrese Gibson, as Angel Mercer, André (3000) Benjamin as Jeremiah Mercer and Garrett Hedlund as Jack Mercer, were actors I didn't know anything about. I really liked Marky Mark in The Big Hit. I think I am the only person that liked that.
Mike: I liked Tyrese in 2 Fast 2 Furious and André was one of the highlights of Be Cool.
Scott: Oh yeah, 2 Fast 2 Furious, another Singleton movie, not as good as this though.
Mike: I like me some 2 Fast. A great guilty pleasure movie. Sometimes the humor was in odd places, but it always seemed to fit because of the camaraderie of the 4 brothers .
Scott: Back to your western reference, there is a really good shootout in this movie, reminded me a bit of Young Guns.
Mike: It even made me think of the Magnificent Seven. Magnificent Four maybe?
Scott: I haven't see that, but it is on my Netflix list.
Mike: You had to like the car chase in the snow.
Scott: I wish my car had traction like that.
Mike: It's all good times until someone gets shot... Probably what their mother would say.
Scott: There are enough twists and turns to keep you entertained, if not guessing a bit.
Mike: I think they came up with some crowd-pleasing twists toward the end. The audience we watched this with really seemed to enjoy the movie from start to finish. On the other hand, the movie is very violent, so it may not be for everyone.
Scott: This is the first movie in a while where there was no gratuitous sex or nudity. And there weren't any strip club scenes either; I thought those were crime-drama requirements.
Mike: It's got some rough language too, but we are not easily offended. Are we?
Scott: Us, never.
Mike: The lead didn't even have a girlfriend. Once again like cowboys.
Scott: They were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Mike: These guys were vigilantes, but you find yourself rooting for them.
Scott: Riding horses of fire out of hell out to avenge the wronged!
Mike: Uh, maybe getting a little carried away their buddy?
Scott: Er, uh, yeah.
Mike: So what do you rate it?
Scott: Overall I give it a 3 out of 5, for crime drama a 4 out of 5. Much better than the standard fare in that department. It is a good opening weekend theatre flick. You?
Mike: Dang, you copied me before I even typed it. I'm the same. I give it 3 out of 5 overall and 4 out of 5 for crime-drama-action-comedy. I guess all we were missing was Sci-Fi and Romance.
Scott: Marky loved his gun. Does that count?
Mike: I think it will do very well the first couple weeks.
Scott: Or it will bomb, no in between.
Mike: This will probably attract a wide variety of people.
Scott: Not sure about that
Mike: This will even bring in women. Remember "Oh no, he shot my baby!"
Scott: Yes, that was funny.
This movie sure did have some Good Vibrations.
