My parents were the first people to bring this to my attention. First they saw the trailer, and then the movie before me. That doesn't happen very often. The trailer looked good, the story seemed to be intriguing, and I was hoping it would hold up. Then word started to filter out that it was indeed a good movie. My hopes rose.
An older woman goes to a convenient store late at night and is brutally murdered. At her funeral, her four adoptive sons come to pay their last respects and play catch up with each other. Not a tight knit group, each one coming up on the mean streets of Detroit. They do have one thing in come, Evelyn Mercer, the only person who took them in and treated them like family. The brothers decide that something has to be done, they need to find out the circumstances of their mother's demise.
This sets them on a course that is much bigger than just the murder of an elderly woman. To describe much more would spoil what goes on. But the story does take unexpected turns, taking us in directions and involving characters that makes you wonder just how far does it go and how does it tie back in to Evelyn? The film is more complete than that, it offers fully realized characters who have more going on in and around the group, more than just the search for truth.
Our brothers are Bobby (Mark Wahlberg) as the hot headed, leader by default of the group, Angel (Tyrese Gibson) as the player and muscle, Jack (Garrett Hedlund) as the would be rocker, and finally Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin) who appears to be the only one with any type of success in life. Each with their own issues and ways of dealing with the problem at hand. They all have their own personalities, which at times conflict with each other, but there is also a strong sense of family lurking beneath the rough exterior.
The film has a gritty sense of immediacy to it. It has that hard edge to it. These four men are not made out to be very good guys, just determined in their search for truth. They will do all that is necessary, even if that means busting a few heads and generally operating outside the confines of the law, which I feel these guys are used to doing.
John Singleton has crafted a fine film, giving it a washed out color palette, building a strong sense of drama. This is definitely a step up from his last film, 2 Fast 2 Furious. While the story has some inconsistencies and holes to it, it doesn't matter. It is portrayed with such strength and conviction it transcends reality and takes on sense of hyper reality. That heightened reality works for it.
I also have to mention the two incredible set pieces. One is a car chase through a snow storm at night, something I don't recall ever seeing before. A pair of cars careening through the night, slamming into parked cars, sliding all around, great stuff. The other is a shootout involving high powered weapons, ski masks, and rocks. It was an intense fight to the finish.
Bottomline. A finely crafted, plotted, and acted film. This turned out to be much more than I anticipated. Surprisingly touching and gritty simultaneously. Definitely worth your time.
Recommended.
Also at Blogcritics.
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