''Four Brothers'' is a 2005 American

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

. The film stars Mark Wahlberg,

Tyrese Gibson Tyrese Darnell Gibson (born December 30, 1978) is an American actor and singer. He released his self-titled debut album in 1998, which featured the single " Sweet Lady", peaking at number twelve on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His second ...

, André Benjamin and Garrett Hedlund as four adopted brothers who set out to avenge the murder of their adoptive mother. The film was shot in Detroit, Michigan and the Greater Toronto Area. It has been described as

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president ...

-influenced. Released on August 12, 2005, the film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $92 million worldwide.

Plot

An elderly woman, Evelyn Mercer, is murdered at a

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery tic ...

in Highland Park, Michigan when a robbery occurs that results in the death of the store clerk, and Evelyn was left as the one and only witness. The incident brings her four adoptive sons back home to Detroit, Michigan to find out what happened. The oldest is a lifelong criminal, hot-tempered Bobby; the second oldest is family man and Union construction worker Jeremiah; the third oldest is an ex-hustler and former US Marine, Angel; and the youngest is aspiring rock musician Jack. Originally under the impression the crime was a simple robbery gone wrong, the brothers chase down and interrogate a false witness to the police, after which the brothers discover that the robbery was a cover for a hit put out on Evelyn. The brothers track down the pair of hired guns who shot and killed Evelyn, and after refusing to give up any information, the two hitmen are executed by the enraged Bobby and Angel. The next day, Detroit Police Lieutenant Green and Detective Fowler confront the brothers about the murders. While the brothers deny involvement, Lieutenant Green warns them that their interference with Evelyn's case is ill-advised and that it will put them in over their heads. After confronting Jeremiah about the revelation of his failing business and benefiting from Evelyn's life insurance, Jeremiah informs his brothers that his construction company was failing precisely because he was not getting involved with gang lord Victor Sweet and that for a project to succeed he had to pay off the right people, which he initially failed to do. In his effort to restore his business and relieve pressure on himself, he tried to pay off Sweet's henchmen. As for the life insurance, Jeremiah explains that the money went directly to him for his daughters, because he paid all of Evelyn's bills while the other brothers were not around. Sweet's men attack the brothers; Jack is shot during the attack and subsequent gunfight, and dies shortly after. Bobby and Angel manage to fend off and kill the gunmen. Bobby finds one of the gunmen still alive and questions him about who sent them, confirming it was Sweet. Lieutenant Green arrives and informs them that Evelyn filed a police report regarding Victor Sweet and his involvement in Jeremiah's affairs, and his partner, Detective Fowler, passed that report on to Sweet. Green warns them to stay out of the matter and let him handle Fowler, and then they will work together on Sweet. Later at a bar, Green asks Fowler about Fowler seeing Evelyn a week before she was killed and asks him, "Why didn't you tell me that? Don't you think that that's relevant to a murder investigation?" Fowler simply responds, "I didn't tell you because it wasn't relevant at all". Fowler then lies and says the police report that Evelyn filed was given to another department to handle, though Green already knows that Fowler gave the report to Sweet. Realizing that Fowler is a crooked cop, Green attacks Fowler with a pool stick and orders Fowler to hand in his badge. After they walk out of the bar, Fowler shoots and kills Green and calls into dispatch claiming two Black assailants had fired upon Green. The remaining brothers devise a plan to buy Victor Sweet off with the $400,000 from their mother's life insurance. Arriving at Fowler's, Angel subdues him. Jeremiah goes to meet Sweet while Angel's girlfriend, Sofi, heads to the police station, where she tells them that Angel is planning to kill a police officer. Hearing the sirens in the distance, Fowler believes they are coming for Angel, until Angel opens his jacket revealing a

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

. Angel claims the whole conversation was taped, including Fowler's admission that he killed Green. The police arrive at Fowler's in full force, at which point Fowler gets the upper hand on Angel. With his gun pointed at Angel's head, Fowler tells the officers outside to back off, and despite telling him they are there to rescue him, Fowler opens fire on the officers, who kill him. Meanwhile, at frozen-over

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...

, Jeremiah meets with Sweet, who reveals that he intends to kill him. Then Jeremiah reveals that the $400,000 is to pay off Sweet's henchmen, who are already embittered towards him because of his blatant mistreatment of them, in exchange for killing Sweet. Sweet angrily demands to know who will be the one to kill him, just as Bobby shows up. Bobby and Sweet brawl, during which Bobby uses his hockey playing skills to get the upper hand, knocking Sweet unconscious. His former henchmen seal his fate, dropping him into a hole carved in the ice. The three brothers, taken into police custody, are beaten in an attempt to make them

confess A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

to the murder of Sweet but give up nothing. Back home, they set about repairing their mother's house and continuing their lives together.

Cast

* Mark Wahlberg as Bobby Mercer, the oldest of the Mercers. *

as Angel Mercer, Bobby's younger adoptive brother, ex-Marine and hustler. * André Benjamin as Jeremiah Mercer, Bobby's younger adoptive brother, family man and construction worker * Garrett Hedlund as Jack Mercer, Bobby's youngest biological brother, youngest of the Mercers, and aspiring rock musician * Terrence Howard as Lieutenant Green *

Josh Charles Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for the roles of Dan Rydell on '' Sports Night; '' Will Gardner on ''The Good Wife'', which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations; and his early wo ...

as Detective Fowler * Sofía Vergara as Sofi, Angel's girlfriend *

Chiwetel Ejiofor Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor ( ; born 10 July 1977) is a British actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, an NAACP Image Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awa ...

as Victor Sweet *

Fionnula Flanagan Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish stage, television, and film actress. For her contributions to the entertainment industry, she was given the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Flanagan is known fo ...

as Evelyn Mercer, the adoptive mother of Bobby, Jeremiah, Angel & Jack *

Taraji P. Henson Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career in guest roles on several television shows before making her breakthrough in '' Baby Boy'' (2001). Sh ...

as Camille Mercer, Jeremiah's wife * Reiya West Downs as Daniela Mercer, Jeremiah & Camille's first daughter * Riele West Downs as Amelia Mercer, Jeremiah & Camille's second daughter *

Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh, (March 30, 1942 – May 5, 2022) was a Canadian film and television actor. He was best known as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle in ''Twin Peaks'', for his roles in the films ''The Day After Tomorrow'', ''Adoration'', '' S ...

as Robert Bradford *

Barry Shabaka Henley Barry Shabaka Henley (born Barry Joseph Henley; September 15, 1954) is an American character actor. Henley has appeared as a regular in a number of television series, has numerous film credits, and is a fixture in films by director Michael Mann, ...

as Councilman Douglas * Jernard Burks as Evan *

Lyriq Bent Lyriq Bent (born January 3, 1979) is a Jamaican-Canadian actor. He is known for his roles in the ''Saw'' films, the television series '' Rookie Blue'', and '' The Book of Negroes''. Bent portrays Jamie Overstreet in the Netflix series ''She's G ...

as Damian *

Adam Beach Adam Beach (born November 11, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in '' Smoke Signals'', Frank Fencepost in ''Dance Me Outside'', Tommy on ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', Kickin' Wing in ''Joe Dirt'', U.S. Marine ...

as Chief

Music

The music for the film includes, in a repeating refrain, the song "

I Wish It Would Rain "I Wish It Would Rain" is a 1967 song recorded by the Temptations for the Motown label (under the "Gordy" imprint) and produced by Norman Whitfield. Release Issued with the Melvin Franklin-led "I Truly, Truly Believe" as its B-side, "I Wish ...

", written by

Barrett Strong Barrett Strong (born February 5, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best known for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitf ...

and

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Moto ...

, and performed by The Temptations, courtesy of Motown Records. Other music includes the following: * " Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane * " Trouble Man" by Marvin Gaye * " Cloud Nine" by The Temptations * "

What U Gon' Do "What U Gon' Do" is a single by Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz from their album ''Crunk Juice'' and features Lil Scrappy. It is one of the best known songs that Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz recorded together. The track reached number 22 on the ''Bi ...

" by Lil Jon and

The East Side Boyz Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

(feat. Lil Scrappy) * " Dancing Machine" by

The Jackson Five The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

* "'T' Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye * "Take A Look Around" by The Temptations * " Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" by The Four Tops * " Shallow" by Porcupine Tree * "Get Back" by Subway to Venus * "Oh Boy" by Eastside Chedda Boyz * " Plastic Jesus" by

Ed Rush Ed Rush is the stage name used by the drum and bass producer and DJ, Ben Settle (born 1973). Rush has been releasing records since 1992 and primarily with his musical partner Optical (Matt Quinn), since 1997. Along with Optical he is also the co ...

and George Cromarty * "Ride Out" by

Blade Icewood Blade Icewood (March 14, 1977 – April 19, 2005), birth name Darnell Quincy Lindsay, was an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He was a member of the rap group Street Lord'z and is arguably considered as the most influential rapper of the ...

* "

Papa Was a Rollin' Stone "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is a song originally performed by Motown recording act The Undisputed Truth in 1972, though it became much better known after a Grammy-award winning cover by The Temptations was issued later the same year. This lat ...

" by The Temptations * "

Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", often shortened to "Inner City Blues", is a song by Marvin Gaye, released as the third and final single, and the climactic song from his 1971 landmark album, '' What's Going On''. Written by Gaye and Ja ...

" by Marvin Gaye * "Got That Fire" by Mycale * "Dum Da Dum" by 2Xl * "

Jesus Walks Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

" by Kanye West (containing a sample of "Walk With Me" performed by The Arc Choir) * "In The Thick" by The Co-Stars * "Motown Flava" by Spooky and The Chunk * "After Dark" by The Co-Stars * "Cleo's Apartment" by Marvin Gaye * "

Smiling Faces Sometimes "Smiling Faces Sometimes" is a soul song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Motown label. It was originally recorded by the Temptations in 1971. Producer Norman Whitfield had the song re-recorded by the Undisputed Truth the sam ...

" by The Undisputed Truth * " Do It Baby" by The Miracles * "Knucklehead" by

Grover Washington Jr. Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He w ...

* "World's Gonna End" by Josh Rifkin, Ben Levine, Chris Steele, and Dave Hemann * "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" by Willie Hutch * "

Für Elise Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (WoO59, Bia515) for solo piano, commonly known as "Für Elise" (, ), is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most popular compositions. It was not published during his lifetime, only being discovered (by Ludwig Nohl) 40 yea ...

" (uncredited), written by Ludwig van Beethoven

Release

''Four Brothers'' was released in the United States on August 12, 2005.

Reception

Box office

''Four Brothers'' grossed $74.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $18 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $92.5 million, against a budget of $30 million. It made $21.2 million on its first weekend, topping the box office.

Critical response

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 52% based on 133 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "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." At Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Sequel

An article written in 2010 suggested that Paramount Pictures was developing a sequel for the film, with Mark Wahlberg returning to reprise his role. It would be written by David Elliot and Paul Lovett. In a 2020 post on his Instagram page,

claimed a script for a sequel, ''Five Brothers'', is in the works.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Four Brothers 2005 films 2005 action thriller films 2000s crime drama films 2000s mystery films American action thriller films American crime drama films American mystery films Fictional portrayals of the Detroit Police Department Films about brothers Films about families American films about revenge Films set in 2004 Films set in Detroit Hood films African-American films Thanksgiving in films American vigilante films Di Bonaventura Pictures films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by John Singleton Films produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura Films scored by David Arnold Films shot in Detroit 2000s vigilante films 2005 drama films Fiction about murder 2000s English-language films 2000s American films