FourBrothers

Four young men return back to Detroit to pay their last respects to their "mother", a foster parent that tried to raise them when no one else could. Of course, something just doesn't smell right about the way and why their mother was murdered, and they go investigating as only 4 men from the streets would.

First, a word of warning. Some of the stuff you see on the trailer does not appear in the movie. Maybe they'll wind up on a director's cut DVD, but don't expect certain things to happen based on the trailer!

Although I had some problems with a few parts, I really enjoyed this movie. John Singleton has a way of telling a story that brings you into that world. Even though it is still summer, I could feel the chill of the Detroit winter and how it emphasized the cold reality of the four brother's environment.

Unfortunately, some of the parts were a bit cliche. I would have preferred to here a soundtrack that didn't sound like it was meant to sell a few CD's. Despite the fact that they are some of my favorites and probably meant to remind the theater goer of the "good ol' days", I'm not quite sure that they would really reach your average Friday night crowd.

Second, the weaker brother almost had a billboard on him from the start saying that something bad was going to happen to him by the way Mark Wahlberg, his brother, was always trying to keep him out of trouble. Of course, he is fatally shot in one of the final shootouts.

This movie, if edited differently, could have been one of this year's best, because it had a fresh storyline and an ending that I didn't expect (Though, not much of a surprise). However, there were too many elements that were predictable and disappointing for a director who likes to look at the human condition. Unfortunately, the storyline invariably goes in a direction that almost seems to be pleasing to the production execs.