Four Brothers (2005)

Kino

Love the Hard Way

Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Love the Hard Way." Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Charlotte Ayanna star in this drama about a thief who falls for a curious, beautiful young woman. As their intimacy grows, a slick cop (Pam Greer) is closing in.

Studio: Paramount Pictures Studio: Paramount Pictures Studio: Paramount Pictures

Rating: R

Release Date: Aug 12, 2005

Running Time: 109 mins.

Country Of Origin: United States

starring: Mark Wahlberg, Andre Benjamin, Tyrese Gibson, Garrett Hedlund, Sofia Vergara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Fionnula Flanagan, Terrence Howard, Taraji Henson, Josh Charles

director: John Singleton

Four Brothers

After their adoptive mother is murdered during a grocery store hold-up, the Mercer brothers--hotheaded Bobby, hard-edged Angel, family man and businessman Jeremiah, and hard rocking Jack--reunite to take the matter of her death into their own hands. As they track down the killer, they quickly realize that their old ways of doing business have new consequences.

Four Brothers is definitely a welcome throwback--and director John Singleton looks like he relishes every nostalgic moment. It's loosely based on John Wayne's The Sons of Katie Elder, but Singleton also adds in elements from those '70s payback flicks he loves so well, á la Death Wish and Shaft (which Singleton remade with Samuel L. Jackson). These movies have nothing to do with an engaging plot; it's just about exacting revenge. Plain and simple. Of course, you know deep down it's wrong to root…

PETER TRAVERS - August 11, 2005

In this tale of four foster brothers out to nail the bastards who shot down their activist mother, director John Singleton tries to blend the social drama that made his name in 1991's Boyz N the Hood and the junk instincts that made him box-office gold with 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious. It's a head-on collision. But you can't deny the sparks.

Mark Wahlberg is in his element as Bobby Mercer, the hard-case older brother who returns to Detroit ready to kick ass. That takes whipping his siblings into…

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Director

Bobby Mercer

Jeremiah Mercer

Angel Mercer

Jack Mercer