Dir.
John Singleton, US, 2005, 109 mins
Cast:
Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard, Chiwetel Ejiofor
John Singleton (Shaft) takes a formulaic tale of four foster brothers revenging their mother's death and puts a lot of bullets and car crashes into it, making it one of the most exciting if silly films out this year.
Few directors can fashion the kind of action thrills Singleton can provide - almost guilty pleasures of cars sliding on their roofs in the snow, houses shot at by so much firepower that their walls come tumbling down. What with this kind of moxy macho, it is no surprise that Mark Wahlberg headlines a tasty case which includes Andre Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund and Tyrese Gibson, all of whom play a mixed race foster family of brothers who return to their mum's home to find her killers. With more than a nod to the classic Sons of Katie Elder, these disparate sons don't ignore their differences in colour - in fact, there are running black and white jokes throughout - rather they accept them, take the mickey out of them and then get on with the revenge. And that revenge takes on the mantle of impossible homicides, mad car chases and hardly seeing the inside of a police department in the meanwhile. But veracity doesn't matter here. What Singleton wants to provide is a rollicking, masculine, action-comedy of race and class that features a good fight for a good mother - only that will allow for this protracted game of cat and mouse between criminals and cops. This is a tale where the guns are big, cars are fast and everything works out (sort of) in the end but not quite how you'd figure. Chiwetel Ejiofor and the wonderful Terence Howard (Hustle And Flow) turn in formidable performances in limited roles. Listen out for the great soundtrack featuring Marvyn Gaye and other soulful luminaries.
Karen Krizanovich
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