By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Mark Wahlberg’s long career in Hollywood is fascinating, including the iconic Boogie Nights, the cult hit comedy Ted, and more than a few outright bombs that would have destroyed the career of any other star, looking at you, Max Payne. Buried in the middle of his career, after he left indie films for blockbusters, but before Transformers, lies Four Brothers, a star-studded revenge thriller from director John Singleton. Wahlberg is at his best when he’s part of an ensemble, which is the secret reason this overlooked film is one of his best.
One Murder, Four Brothers
Wahlberg plays Bobby Mercer, the oldest of the four brothers, all of whom were raised by Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan) after their own families fell apart. Tyrese Gibson, fresh off working with Singleton on 2 Fast 2 Furious, is Angel Mercer, Andre Benjamin (Outkast singer Andre 3000) plays Jeremiah Mercer, and the youngest, Jack Mercer, is played by Garret Hedlund, long before Tron: Legacy. The brothers reunite after Evelyn is gunned down, setting them on a path for revenge that leads them directly to the local crime boss, Sweets (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who happens to have most of Detroit on the take.
Like a normal family, the four brothers discover that as they grew up, they didn’t have a lot in common with each other. At first, they can’t even agree on how to avenge their mom. Bobby’s a criminal, Angel is a Marine, Jeremiah enjoys the quiet life with his family, and Jack is still a kid, but they do put their differences aside and come together to dismantle the criminal underground of Detroit and take down a few corrupt cops and politicians along the way.
Four Brothers Shares The Spotlight
He gets top billing, and Bobby emerges as a leader, but Mark Wahlberg takes a back seat to Tyrese Gibson and Andre Benjamin for stretches of the film, and by sharing the focus, Four Brothers makes the most of Wahlberg’s screentime. Unlike Shooter and Max Payne, his schtick doesn’t have time to get old. A little bit of Marky Mark goes a long way.
Even the supporting cast is stuffed with familiar faces, including Terrence Howard, a pre-Modern Family Sofia Vergara, Taraji P. Henson, and one of the greatest “that guy’s” in Hollywood, Josh Charles, a name you don’t recognize, but a face and a voice that you will immediately place. Four Brothers makes the most out of every performance, and Singleton manages to make everyone feel important, a feat that major blockbuster franchises today are still struggling with.
Four Brothers was not a critical hit, and today it sports a 53 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. However, those who really matter, the general audience, give it a significantly higher mark of 80 percent.
I know that saying Four Brothers is one of Mark Wahlberg’s best because it doesn’t put him front and center may seem like a backhanded compliment, but here, The Departed, Pain and Gain, The Perfect Storm, The Italian Job, and even Boogie Nights are all the same way. Colin Farrell discovered he wasn’t meant to be a traditional leading man, and once he embraced the right roles for him, the awards and critical acclaim soon followed. There’s hope yet for Wahlberg.
Four Brothers is now streaming on Paramount+.
