FOUR BROTHERS - HD DVD review

John Singleton showed his directorial abilities in the striking look at life in South Central Los Angeles with the critically acclaimed film "Boyz n the Hood." That film, featuring the acting debut of Ice Cube focused on the violent means of survival for young African-American males in one of the most dangerous urban locations in the United States. Singleton has been a strong voice in bringing the stories of his actual upbringing in South Central L.A. and shown the struggles of young black men. For his efforts, he was rewarded with an Academy Award for best director. In "Four Brothers," Singleton continues his look at the violence surrounding African-American youth, but he changes his location from the deadly streets of Compton to the dangerous suburbs of Detroit. Violence is still a key element of the Singleton picture, but instead of the heat and sunshine of California, we are thrust into the freezing winters of Michigan.

In "Four Brothers," Singleton tells the tale of a caring elderly lady who took in four juvenile delinquents and raised them to be better men. The four adopted boys were racially mixed and came from different, but troubled backgrounds. Regardless of the color of their skin, the four men look to each other as true brothers and when they start to uncover the truths of their mother's murder, the four men show how strong their bond is and resort to the dangerous and criminal upbringings to bring justice to their mother's killer. The four brothers Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Angel (Tyrese Gibson), Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin) and Jack (Garrett Hedlund) are each very different personalities. Yet, no matter how far they existed on the wrong side of the law when they were younger, their mother Evelyn (Fionnula Flanagan) made each of them better men. They are brothers and the only woman that loved them and cared to make them better people has been taken from them.

The four brothers are not alone in the world, even with their mother gunned down. Lt. Green (Terrence Howard) is a police detective that knew their mother and has a friendly background with the four young men. He knows of their criminal backgrounds and he knows they are far better men than what they would have been if it had not been for Evelyn. Green understands the men's love for Evelyn and though he warns the boys they should not take justice into their own hands, Green looks the other way as they look to track down their killers. He asks them to not hide information, so that he may continue his investigation, but regardless of the fact that Green is a police officer and the boys are from the other side of the tracks, he is more like a caring uncle than an officer of the law. They have a deep friendship that is not easily apparent, but strong enough that Green looks out for the boys the best he can.

The central themes of the film are revenge and that any man, regardless of skin color or background can find a strong love for each other and for someone who cares about them. They bring about immense bouts of violence, but the driving force behind the trail of blood they leave behind them is not bloodlust or hate, it is about a final loving act for the mother who gave them a foster home and allowed them to survive. Each of the four men are far different from one another. Jack is a wanna-be musician who lacks the violent underpinnings of the older three men, but he is looked after by all three as the little brother. Bobby is the leader of the men. He is the most dangerous and the quickest to resort to violence, but he protects his brothers fiercely. Angel is his own man and would rather sleep with his Latino girlfriend than take part in violence. Jeremiah has visions of running his own real-estate venture and making good. He has been the one to take care of his mother and is the most intelligent and stable of the four. No matter what their ideas and attitudes are, their mother and one another are what really counts.

"Four Brothers" is a very violent film that takes a look at the harsh life of Detroit. Detroit has been the butt of many jokes because of how violent the city is. There is a lot of blood and plenty of gunfire. A scene where the four men are pinned down in their mother's home while a large number of hitmen engage them in a gunfight is very violent and eclipsed only by the strongest of war films in its ferocity. In their quest to bring justice to the man who killed their mother, they resort to executions and to other vicious acts. Mark Walhberg is a Boston native who first rose to fame as rapper Marky Mark (his brother was a singer with New Kids on the Block). I don't consider Walhberg to be a great actor, but he extremely believable as Bobby Mercer. His upbringing on the streets of Boston have prepared him well for the part of street smart Bobby. He is a tough and dangerous persona that you do not want on your bad side, but you know he is the kind of person that has your back if you have his respect.

Beyond the violence, "Four Brothers" has an engaging story that doesn't quite reach the level of storytelling found in "Boyz n the Hood," but shows that Singleton still knows how to relate the dangers of the streets in American's dangerous cities and what some youth need to do to survive in this rough neighborhoods. Much of the dialogue was improvised by the actors. Wahlberg invented nearly all of his lines in the film. By having them relate to each other in their own words and through the friendships they made while being ‘brothers,' the four principal actors relate to each other in a very believable fashion. The film succeeds in part to the dynamics of the four actors and under Singleton's talented direction, "Four Brothers" is violent, but believable. In the end you feel compassion for four violent men. You understand their plight and you want to see the kind old lady's murder avenged. You also want to avoid the streets of Detroit.

Video:

John Singleton joked that "Four Brothers" as his first ‘snow movie.' Shot outdoors in Detroit and Toronto, the temperature never went above freezing. The exterior shots in the film is a wonderful contrast to the violence by delivering the serenity and beauty of winter snow with bloodshed and violence. Singleton resorted to camera angles and shot compositions reminiscent of old Western movies. He allows a lot of close-up angles and other camera shots that he felt are now absent from modern films. As I watched the captivating and well done shootout sequence, I quickly remembered a few moments during "The Magnificent Seven" that were reminiscent of the boys fight against the attackers. "Four Brothers" may be a violent film, but it is a well shot picture that transcends genres and finds strong influence from Westerns that took place under the warm Western sun and not the cold winter overcast of the Great Lakes.

The visual splendor of "Four Brothers" is quite good on HD-DVD. The 2.35:1 widescreen image is highly detailed, full of color and among the better offerings so far on the young format. Singleton got to film the snow he craved to shoot and there is a lot of real snow in the picture. Each flake is clearly defined and the fresh-laden snow on the ground shows texture that can only be realized through a good high definition picture. There are a few scenes shot at night and these dark moments are nicely rendered. During the film's big car chase sequence where Bobby and his brothers try to run down two killers in an El Camino, there is a little bit of film grain and some of the interior shots of the cars are a bit soft, but these few minutes were the only faults I could see in the entire film. The picture quality does not rank up their with the current visual kings "The Chronicles of Riddick" or "Sahara," but the film is visually stunning.

Audio:

The film's soundtrack was another element where Singleton strived to get back to the classics and break away from what is currently trendy in modern films. His usage of a couple great old Motown songs was quite fitting considering the film's location of Motor City, but it also brought about a stronger feeling of family and caring between the brothers. Of course, Lil Jon busted into the mix for a few minutes of one of the film's better sounding moments, but aside from the Lil' Jon song, Singleton's usage of old Motown songs was a great decision. The film's big gunfire scene is another audibly strong sequence. As the boys' childhood home is being riddle with bullets, windows are being shot out and bricks are being busted apart, the multi-channel surround mix of "Four Brothers" rivals the best action films. Thoughts of Michael Mann's "Heat" and the aforementioned "Magnificent Seven" come to mind. This really is a good gunfight and it sounds incredible.

"Four Brothers" is presented with four soundtracks. The native English language is offered with a great sounding 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus mix and an equally strong DTS 5.1 multi-channel surround track. I found the Dolby Digital Plus was marginally better and had more presence in the big gunfire sequence. Bass is strong and powerful when needed. It is most apparent during Lil Jon's song. There is a lot of bullets discharged throughout the picture and when they come from different sources on-screen, they are delivered through various speakers. The rear surrounds are used very nicely during both the car chase sequence and the gunfight. Much of the film is dialogue driven and everybody is loud and clear and never drowned out by either gunfire or heavy snowfall. All-in-all, "Four Brothers" is a good sounding film that comes to life when it needs to.

Extras:

"Four Brothers" has a couple nice bits of extra materials that are nice inclusions on the DVD. The Commentary by Director John Singleton is a personable track by the director. He chats about his various decisions in the film and goes into detail about the various influences he had from Westerns, Seventies action films and Motown music. You can get a good appreciation for the direction Singleton was taking and why he wanted to shoot a movie in the snow. He speaks highly of his four young actors and you can tell he is very pleased with the finished topic. This track is a nice little education on the picture and offers a look at how the talented director thinks.

After the insightful commentary track, there are some nice featurettes that detail the making of the film. The Look of Four Brothers covers how Singleton did not want a film that was ‘Hip-Hop' or like a music video. He wanted a classic looking film that was reminiscent of American Westerns. He wanted an American looking film and this ten minute short covers this approach nicely. Did he succeed in making a modern and urban ‘Western?' I think so, since I was drawing parallels to Westerns before I heard a word from the commentary. He at least delivered the notion for me to easily realize. Crafting Four Brothers is an eleven minute look at creating the story behind the film. Behind the Brotherhood is ten more minutes and has Singleton discussing the strong bond between the characters. Mercer House Shootout is only four minutes long, but looks at storyboards and other elements that went into the great shootout scene. These featurettes are well done and features a lot of involvement by the director.

Nine deleted scenes are included on the DVD. They run for only eleven minutes and do offer more background on the characters and the story. However, there is nothing really valuable in here that would have changed to story. Some of the better ones involved a few extra minutes with Evelyn before she died, a few extra scenes with Lt. Green and a few more moments with the brothers. I'm a sucker for deleted scenes and I did enjoy them. After the deleted scenes, the Theatrical Trailer is presented in high definition. I can't wait for studios to start formatting the rest of the supplements in HD.

Closing Comments:

John Singleton has crafted another good look at urban violence and the trials and tribulations of youth who lack the full advantages that were available to most of us. "Four Brothers" is a revenge film that is molded after the Great American Western. Singleton wanted a classic feeling film that was not an extended music video like many other films today. He also wanted snow. He succeeded on both accounts and by allowing his young actors to improvise much of their lines, he created a genuine chemistry between the characters. The HD-DVD release of "Four Brothers" is technically sound. It features a very good image that is backed up by a strong soundtrack. The supplements contained take a good look at the Singleton's ‘different approach' to filmmaking. This is a violent picture that shows the strength of brotherhood. Paramount has made a few wise decisions in their original lot of HD-DVD releases and this is one shining example.