Four Brothers (film)
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| Four Brothers | |
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| Directed by | John Singleton |
| Produced by | Lorenzo di Bonaventura |
| Written by | David Elliot, Paul Lovett |
| Starring | Mark Wahlberg Tyrese Gibson Garrett Hedlund Andre Benjamin Terrence Howard Josh Charles Lyriq Bent and Chiwetel Ejiofor |
| Music by | David Arnold |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 12, 2005 |
| Running time | 109 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $40,000,000 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
- For the jazz standard written by Jimmy Giuffre, see Four Brothers (jazz standard)
Four Brothers (2005) is an action crime film directed by John Singleton. The movie stars Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, Mark Wahlberg, and Garrett Hedlund. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[1]
Taglines: They came home to bury mom...and her killer.
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[edit] Plot
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The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. |
The seemingly-random murder of their adoptive mother in a convenience store sends four brothers from Detroit on the path of vengeance when they uncover a tangled criminal web involving a local kingpin.
After returning to Detroit for their mother's funeral, four adopted brothers set about avenging their mother's death, though warned not to by childhood friend and investigating officer Lt. Green (Terrence Howard) who admonishes that the police must be allowed to do their job, at the great derision of Bobby Mercer..
Originally under the impression the crime was a simple "robbery-gone-wrong", the brothers soon discover that the robbery was merely a cover for what was, in fact, a "hit" put out on their beloved mother. After this revelation, Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Angel (Tyrese Gibson), Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin) and Jack Mercer (Garrett Hedlund) track down the hired guns via the alleged "witness", named Damian (Lyriq Bent) who was paid by the hitmen. Damian gave up the location of the hitmen after falling and badly injuring his leg. The brothers then approach the contract killers at a bar, which leads to an intense car chase. The assassins are eventually cornered and, refusing to say anything, are unceremoniously executed by Bobby and Angel.
The next day, Lt. Green and Detective Fowler (Josh Charles) confront the brothers about the murder. Fowler, losing his head, claims Bobby's hair was found on the victims—to which Bobby responds is "an old one (trick)"—knowing it was a lie. Lt. Green warns them once again, telling them that their snooping is ill-advised, and that it will eventually put them in over their heads.
Later in the week, Angel is informed that Jeremiah is the beneficiary of their mother's $400,000 life insurance policy and that his construction company is nearly bankrupt, facts which he had neglected to mention in any previous conversation. After further investigation by the brothers, Angel believes that Jeremiah's construction projects were shut down by the city after it was discovered he was involved with a mob boss. After presenting this information to Jack and Bobby, Jack and Bobby confront the corrupt city councilman to learn the boss' name, Victor Sweet (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Angel, Bobby and Jack's worst fears are realized when they witness Jeremiah paying off one of Sweet's men, Evan, in a bowling alley with their mother's life insurance.
After confronting Jeremiah with their concerns, in a rather violent manner, the brothers are treated to a somewhat different version of events. Jeremiah informs then that his construction company was failing precisely because he wasn't getting involved with Victor Sweet, and that for a project to succeed he had to pay off the right people, which he initially failed to do so. In his effort to restore his business and relieve pressure from himself, he tried to pay off Sweet's henchman. As for the life insurance, Jeremiah explains that the money went directly to him because he paid all of their mother's bills, while his other brothers weren't around.
During the confrontation with Jeremiah, someone knocked on the front door. Opening the door, Jack is greeted by a snowball in the face and an epithet degrading his mother's virtue. In anger he proceeds to chase the offender, who suddenly turns around revealing a masked face and fires a bullet into his right chest. Bobby notices Jack's absence, and, rushing to the front door, sees a van arrive which emerges a team of masked gunmen. Before Bobby can reach Jack, the youngest brother is shot an additional four times in the legs. A massive firefight ensues, with Jack stranded, injured and crying for help, in the middle of the street. The Mercer boys manage to subdue their assailants, who were sent by Victor Sweet. Unfortunately, the brothers arrive too late and must watch helplessly as Jack dies in their oldest brother's arms. Nearly crippled by rage and grief, Bobby finds one of the gunmen still alive in the van and soon learns that Victor Sweet was behind the surprise attack and their youngest brother's death.
When Lt. Green arrives, he informs them that their mother had a few weeks past filed a major police report regarding Victor Sweet and his involvement in Jeremiah's affairs, and that report was passed on to Victor Sweet, this confirms in the brothers minds the knowledge that Sweet was responsible for their mother's murder. Lt. Green also tells them not to worry, as he assures them it will go down as self-defense. He also tells them that he recently learned Detective Fowler was the rat, who was responsible for taking their mother's report and passing it on to Sweet. Saying that Fowler was his problem alone, Green warns the brothers to stay out and let him handle Fowler and then they will work together on Sweet. After confronting Fowler at a bar, Fowler shoots and kills Green.
Truly on their own, the now three brothers devise a plan to buy Victor Sweet off with the $400,000 from their mother's life insurance. The first phase of the plan involved contacting Evan (who was a union friend of Jeremiah), and getting Sweet to agree to accept the money. When Sweet accepts, Angel sets off for Fowler's. Arriving at Fowler's, he places a plastic bag over his head, informing him he has four minutes to live. He then phones Bobby and Jeremiah and tells them he has captured Fowler and Bobby tells Jeremiah to go meet Sweet. While this is occurring, Angel's girlfriend, Sofi, heads to the police station, where she tells the police that her boyfriend is going to kill a cop. The police then head for Fowler's in full force. Before the four minutes runs out, Fowler rips the bag off his head. With a gun pointed to his head, Fowler admits to Angel he killed Lt. Green, but no one would believe a criminal like Angel. Hearing the sirens in the distance, Fowler thinks they are coming for Angel, until Angel removes his jacket showing a wire. Pointing to an outside van, Angel claims the whole conversation was taped. Fowler attacks Angel and easily recovers Angel's gun. Using Angel as a hostage, Fowler tells the police to back off. At this point we learn that the van was not an actual surveillance vehicle, nor was the wire recording. It was merely a ruse to prove that Fowler was corrupt. Fowler opens fire on the officers, the officers return fire and kill Fowler.
Jeremiah then meets with Sweet on a frozen lake. After Victor Sweet's arrival, though, it is revealed that while waiting for Sweet, Jeremiah and Evan have convinced Sweet's men, whom Sweet treats very poorly, to abandon Sweet and come back to work for Evan. When Sweet then asks who will challenge him to a climatically necessary fight, Bobby is seen approaching from a distance. Bobby and Sweet have a fistfight, in the course of which Bobby defeats Sweet, rendering him unconscious, however no doubt is left as to his fate after he is dropped in a hole carved into the ice.
The three brothers, now in police custody, are brutalized in an attempt to make them confess to the murder of Victor Sweet. The cops again use the line "your hair sample was taken from the body," but the brothers have learned from experience. Using the same alibi of "having sex with your wife", the brothers are finally released, and set about the work of repairing their mother's house, which has been so terribly damaged by the gunfight which took Jack's life. Angel goes to hang out with his girlfriend while Jerry goes in with his family. As Bobby is left alone he sees his mother standing on the steps. She says its always nice to see him and asks if he would be staying for a while this time. He smiles and says he's thinking about it, to which she smiles and the scene then fades into the Detroit landscape.
[edit] Cast and characters
- Mark Wahlberg as Bobby Mercer
- Tyrese Gibson as Angel Mercer
- André Benjamin as Jeremiah Mercer
- Garrett Hedlund as Jack Mercer
- Terrence Howard as Lt. Green
- Josh Charles as Detective Fowler
- Sofia Vergara as Sofi
- Fionnula Flanagan as Evelyn Mercer
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as Victor Sweet
- Taraji P. Henson as Camille Mercer
- Barry Shabaka Henley as Councilman Douglas
- Jernard Burks as Evander Pierce
- Kenneth Welsh as Robert Bradford
- Tony Nappo as Charlie
- Shawn Singleton as Victor Hoodlum
[edit] The Mercer Brothers
- Robert "Bobby" Mercer, portrayed by Mark Wahlberg, is the oldest and most volatile of the Mercer brothers, often getting into fights over the smallest of insults. Stubborn to a fault, Bobby possesses a short-temper and has long since been hardened by a turbulent childhood and numerous jail terms. He was known as the Michigan Mauler during his ice hockey days and was "thrown out of sixty-odd games before the league had finally had enough of him." His loyalty lies in only one place: his family.
- Jeremiah "Jerry" Mercer, portrayed by Andre Benjamin, is the second oldest and most rational of the brothers. He is very level-headed and sensible in even the most trying of situations. He is married to a young woman named Camille and has two young daughters, Daniela and Amelia. Jerry owns his own construction company and is known throughout the neighborhood as a good, hard-working businessman.
- Angel Mercer, played by Tyrese Gibson, is the third oldest and the player of the brothers. He is often called a pretty boy by the people around him because of his constant need to impress members of the opposite sex. Angel joined the United States Marine Corps right out of high school and his brothers often poke fun at him, questioning how a player like him ever made it through four years of having little to no contact with women. Angel has had an on-off relationship with the hot-tempered Sofi, played by Sofía Vergara, a Puerto Rican woman whom his brothers cannot stand to be in the same room as most of the time. Bobby obnoxiously refers to her as 'La Vida Loca'.
- Jack "Jackie" Mercer, portrayed by Garrett Hedlund, is the youngest and most emotional of the four brothers. Quiet and sensitive, Jack is the opposite of his older brothers. It is made rather clear that Jack had experienced a very traumatic childhood before he was adopted by Evelyn Mercer. Arguing and shouting makes him very uneasy and Jack often looks to his brothers for reassurence. Despite Bobby's short temper, he seems to be rather cautious around his youngest brother and is the closest of the brothers to Jack, taking an almost guardian-like position in his life. Just barely over drinking age, Jack is treated as the baby of the family and often becomes frustrated by his older brothers' protective natures. His brothers often referred to him as "Jackie" or "Cracker Jack".
[edit] Reception
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, reviews were mixed, with 52% of critics giving the film positive reviews, based on 124 reviews, with the consensus that "despite striking a believable rapport among its principal actors, Four Brothers overwhelms with ultra-violent, vigilante-glorifying action and devolves into too many fractured, insubstantial thematic directions."[2]
[edit] Remake
The movie was remade into malayalam as Big B by Amal Neerad with Mammootty, Manoj K Jayan, Nafisa Ali, Mamtha Mohandas in lead. The movie was an average grosser.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by The Dukes of Hazzard |
Box office number-one films of 2005 (USA) August 14, 2005 |
Succeeded by The 40 Year-Old Virgin |
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