Four Brothers

Herald rating: * * *

Director John Singleton trawls familiar territory - the urban thriller of Boyz N the Hood, Shaft, 2 Fast 2 Furious and his current Hustle & Flow - and refers back to John Wayne movies to create what he calls an "urban Western".

Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan) goes to a Detroit convenience store late at night to sort out a problem between the owner and a young shoplifter. Two hoods walk in, hold up the place, and she's shot dead.

Turns out she was a foster mother, and at the funeral we're introduced to four adopted sons, two black, two white - Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Angel (Tyrese Gibson), Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin) and Jack (Garrett Hedlund).

These four men were the only ones she couldn't find homes for. Bobby is the oldest, the angry one; Angel is the dodgy one; Jeremiah is a real estate agent with a family, and Jack is a muso.

They agree their mother's death calls for a response. Especially when they find evidence suggesting there was something more to the incident.

Good set-up, but over-the-top violence, thin characters and a plot full of holes let it down.

On the disc are four behind-the-scenes features in which Singleton and his writers go to some lengths to underscore their love for spaghetti westerns.

* DVD, video rental today