It's been 14 years since director John Singleton stormed the film world with his break-through Boyz N The Hood -- a film with a message. He's out with a new film, Four Brothers -- a film that, best as I can tell, really only wants to be taken as entertainment.
"We could get guns and shoot up the place. Whatever. You know?"
Four Brothers definitely works as an urban thriller. Its logic is all over the place, however, and if you stop to think about what is being passed off as credible you will get a major headache. This is in stark contrast to Boys N The Hood which from the first frame took you into a searingly honest, real world where parents fear for their children's future. In his latest film, it's the kids doing the fearing for the parent, but only as a motivation for some serious gun violence. Mom's been killed, revenge must be exacted, and the body count must hit more than a dozen.
There are some things to really like about Four Brothers. I liked that it's willing to define a family in our increasingly diverse society as something that might include whites and blacks together. I also thought the car chase in the snow, with cars sliding all over, into each other, losing control, was just incredible. But it's using violence as the attraction while its predecessor was using violence as a frightful message.
Boyz N The Hood is about stark choices, real conflicts. It's an important film. Obviously, Singleton had a lot more on his mind back then, at a time when Los Angeles was about to explode in riots. His film helped explain some of the rage we saw on the television.
Boyz N The Hood. Because it was, without question, one of the best films of its decade. And the latest effort may barely be the best film of the week.
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Movies-Squared (Two Reviews for the Price of One!) is a companion blog to News, Views & Schmoze. It reviews one film out in the theaters today by comparing it to a related film out on DVD -- and declares a winner. The connection might be subject matter, director, actor, whatever...
