Four Brothers (Special Collector's Edition)
by John Singleton
List Price:
Our Price: $2.46
You Save: $10.49 (81%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.40 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: André Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, Mark Wahlberg, Terrence Howard, Tyrese GibsonDirector: John Singleton
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Cinematographer: Peter Menzies Jr.
Producer: Erik Howsam
Producer: Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Producer: Ric Kidney
Producer: Sharon Seto
Writer: David Elliot
Writer: Paul Lovett
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 109 minutes
Published: 2005-12-01
DVD Release Date: 2005-12-20
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Four Brothers (Special Collector's Edition)
DVD Review: Four Brothers (DVD)
Summary: 4 Stars
On the heels of the convenience store slaying of neighborhood den mother Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan), her adopted sons - "four delinquents so far gone that no one else would take them in" - come home for the funeral. You've got tatted up, gay wannabe rock star Jack ( Garrett Hedlund), former union worker /hellraiser-turned-straight arrow family man Jeremiah (Andre "3000" Benjamin), and pretty boy Marine Angel ( Tyrese Gibson), who comes part and parcel with his aggressively dysfunctional relationship with stereotypically hot-blooded Latina girlfriend Sofi (Sofia Vergara). And then there's Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), the oldest, most volatile, charismatically violent leader of the interracial Mercer brethren. Spurred on by the memory of "the best mother four degenerate bastards could ever have," Bobby leads the clan through a messy, hackles-raising, vengeance spree through inner city Detroit, miles ahead of an ineffectual police in trying to solve who murdered their mother.
From its snowy, Motown-fueled opening to its frozen lake climax with a nice, unexpectedly pro-union twist, "Four Brothers" is a bare-knuckled, take-no-prisoners action romp rooted in gravitas. "Brothers" is such a punch-first-ask-questions-almost-never type vehicle, you can credit Singleton for single-handedly resurrecting the urban Western with admirable verve and tenacity. Grounded by a capable script from David Elliot and newcomer Paul Lovett, Singleton's "Brothers" is as much about brotherhood (the boys bond through hockey, fighting, Motown music, and general horseplay - all very believable) as it is about bashing some heads in. The hard-edged, potty-mouthed, rough hewn script, matched with Singleton's great visual energy and flair, features surprisingly unexpected violence that keeps the suspense up and lives off balance.
Having quite a summer (exec producer and financier of breakout indie hit "Hustle & Flow"), John Singleton demonstrates just how much he's grown commercially, if not artistically (yes, you CAN do both) in "Brothers." Employing the car trick photography acquired through his admittedly sellout vehicle-sequel "2 Fast 2 Furious," Singleton spotlights one harrowing, wintry car chase shootout with particularly frenetic magnetism. In a shootout that would make Charlton Heston proud, Singleton stops the film completely by jumpstarting it into the aforementioned urban (Mid-)Western genre, with probably the most exciting and tragic action sequence of the summer. Wracked with high stakes and true emotion yet still viciously edited with hacking, meat cleaver-like intensity, more than bullets and bricks fly in this showdown.
Infusing the pic with said intensity is a fine stable of competent and on-the-come-up actors. While singer-cum-actor Tyrese didn't exactly move me in "2 Fast" or "Brothers," his Angel at least keeps up with the crew, brooding appropriately for most of the movie yet totally whipped by his bra-popping, hell-on-heels girlfriend. The least developed of the brothers, Hedlund's Jack hints at the corners of an abusive foster home past and an easy acceptance of his role as lowest on the brotherly totem pole, gamely taking ribbing about his dubious sexuality and being stuck with the worst weapons (he gets a crowbar while everyone else gets guns). Despite his native, out-of-place Georgia twang, Andre "3000" Benjamin, one-half of worldwide Hip-hop superstar group OutKast, exudes a quiet complexity within his attractive, genial smile as family-and-honor-bound Jeremiah, a smile that hides pain, responsibility, and principle to spare.
Mark Wahlberg dives oily-head first into his personally delinquent Beantown past to emerge as Bobby "the Michigan Mauler" Mercer, a former high school hockey goon with an appealing, casually violent nature and an affinity for gasoline and firearms. Not just enough to be the leader of this ragamuffin crew of not quite reformed malcontents, Wahlberg's Bobby leads by beautifully misguided, hotheaded example, more than happy to create a scene with mack truck finesse where surgeon scalpel precision would do. In other words, he's so unpredictable, you can't take your eyes off him, for fear you miss his next ferocious, out-of-his-hindquarters move.
Whereas the chemistry among all four brothers is believably tight, the support suffers in comparison, despite amiable casting. As an ear-to-the-streets detective, Terrence Howard does Terrence Howard, emitting his trademark, green-eyed laser beam concentration in his handful of scenes. Also from "Hustle & Flow" as well as Singleton's confused, patchwork quilt of black male psychology "Baby Boy," Taraji P. Henson is criminally underused as Jeremiah's worrisome wife Camille (but I'm sure the seldom-working Henson appreciated the check). Having heralded him the British heir apparent to Denzel upon introduction to his work in "Dirty Pretty Things," Chiwetel Ejiofor shocked the hell out of me by washing up with a sturdy, American hood accent as gang lord Victor Sweet. A sort of Nino Brown-lite, Ejiofor's Sweet is cartoonishly malevolent, who prefers as much to punish with brute force as with unforgettable humiliation. The only one out of place at this party is Josh Charles (S.W.A.T.), a bland and curious choice for a Detroit detective, standing out like Tom Cruise at a Nation of Islam meeting (or the BET Awards - same difference).
Hampered but never slowed by moments of unintentional comedy that usually sprout from random violence and insults, this movie may get a little silly with all the action but at least it's never boring. Deploying an intriguing second act complication that blurs the lines between good guys and bad, "Four Brothers" is a multi-culti cowboy flick for the 21st century. Somewhere in his grave, Charles Bronson is giving Singleton a pistol-packing salute.
Description of Four Brothers (Special Collector's Edition)
A GRITTY URBAN TALE ABOUT FOUR ADOPTED BROTHERS FROM DELINQUENT BACKGROUNDS, BOUND BY THEIR LOVE OF THE MOM WHO ADOPTED & RAISED THEM. AFTER SHE IS BRUTALLY MURDERED, THE BROTHERS REUNITE TO AVENGE HER DEATH.Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Hustle & Flow (Widescreen Edition)Paramount; Release date: 2006-01-10; Published: 2006-01-01; DVD
Best price: $2.89
Price in other shops:
The HappeningFox; Release date: 2008-10-07; DVD
Best price: $4.88
Price in other shops:
We Own the NightSony; Release date: 2008-02-12; DVD
Best price: $1.96
Price in other shops:
Training Day (Snapcase Packaging)Warner; Release date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $2.78
Price in other shops:
FearNBC Universal; Release date: 1998-10-27; DVD
Best price: $4.26
Price in other shops:
American Gangster (2-Disc Unrated Extended Edition)Universal Studios; Release date: 2008-02-19; DVD
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
Assault on Precinct 13 (Widescreen Edition)UNI DIST CORP. (MCA); Release date: 2005-05-10; DVD
Best price: $1.76
Price in other shops:
Max PayneFOX; Release date: 2009-01-20; Published: 2009-01-01; DVD
Best price: $3.21
Price in other shops:
The Italian JobPARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2003-10-07; DVD
Best price: $3.13
Price in other shops:
Shooter (Widescreen Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2007-06-26; DVD
Best price: $6.77
Price in other shops: