Four Brothers, directed by John Singleton, is a fast-paced action film set in Detroit (though also filmed in Canada) that is a loose retake of The Sons of Katie Elder (1965). At the beginning of the film, two robbers enter a convenience store one evening, gun down the sole cashier and shoot saintly Evelyn Mercer (played by Fionnula Flanagan), who first hides and then is discovered when she makes a sound due to the gunfire. Next, a funeral brings together her four sons, two white and two black. Mercer was in charge of foster care placement for a Detroit social service agency, and she adopted them when they could not find foster parents due to their juvenile delinquent past. The four have not always been on good terms with one another, as demonstrated when they squabble a bit, but they are now united in pursuit of the one responsible for their mother's death, which was not inadvertent. In the process, they focus on various suspects and ultimately find themselves at odds with a crime kingpin, Victor Sweet (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Bobby (played by Mark Waldberg) is the oldest and the leader, though not always the cleverest. Angel (played by Tyrese Gibson) has a good looking girlfriend, Sofi (played by Sofi Vergara). Jeremiah (played by André Benjamin) is married with children to Camile (played by Taraji P. Henson) and has been involved in a real estate deal that was thwarted by Councilperson Douglas (played by Barry Shabaka Henley) at the behest of the crimelord. Jack (played by Garrett Hedlund) seems the least intelligent but he soothingly plays a guitar. However, they conduct their investigation with strong-arm methods, and the police get involved in due course. One cop is a good guy but another is corrupt, linked to the crime kingpin, who in turn sends thugs to machinegun the brothers. Eventually, the identity of their mother's killer becomes less important than putting a stop to the crimelord. A showdown appears on what appears to be Lake St. Clair, which is frozen over except for a hole chainsawed out of the ice for someone. The dialog is recited so rapidly that the action indeed speaks louder. MH
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