BB DVD Review: Four Brothers

Tense, emotive and well-crafted, Four Brothers takes material that could be typical bottom shelf action movie fare and gives us something more than a few notches above. It tells the tale of the Mercer bro's and their quest for vengeance after the murder of their adoptive mother in a refreshingly frill-free way.

Credit first to director John Singleton who creates a multi-ethnic urban western set in the snowy wilds of Detroit that, while containing some good action set-pieces, is just as concerned with the emotions of the characters as it is with the havoc they create. There are times in his career where the director seemed to let the studio machinery drown out his voice (Shaft) but he turns that to his advantage here, keeping his work solid but unselfish and letting the story and the performances drive the movie. In turn Mark Wahlberg, Outkast's Andre Benjamin, Tyrese Gibson (2 Fast 2 Furious) and Garrett Hedlund (Friday Night Lights) do a fine job, creating a convincing, soulful camaraderie that makes it easier for the viewer to rationalize the often brutal acts of violence they dole out in pursuit of justice.

The film's greatest strength is its lack of pretension. Singleton set out to craft a compelling 90 or so minutes that tells the story in the most economical way possible and that's exactly what he achieves. Rare is the mainstream movie made these days with little in the way of bloat or blubber or without ideas above its station; so perhaps that is why it is so refreshing to find a movie so lean and flat out entertaining. It won't be appearing on anyone's best of list anytime soon but its the kind of movie that, when your flicking through the TV channels and you find it on, you'll watch it again even though you've seen it a dozen times before. And that's not to be sniffed at.

DVD EXTRAS: A commentary by Director John Singleton. Some decent if short featurettes on the look, the writing, the action and the bond between the four brothers. A number of deleted scenes, mainly character stuff to flesh out the brothers - no commentary but they were probably cut for reasons of space and pacing.