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Rip-roaring revenge tale makes no higher claim

Some movies are across-the-board masterpieces that transcend definition and genre, and leave you stunned with their originality and bravery.

And then, there are movies that just are what they are, like John Singleton's bullet-ridden bonanza Four Brothers, starring Mark "Stop calling me Marky Mark" Wahlberg.

Paramount Pictures 'Four Brothers' The verdict: It is what it is. And whether that's a good thing is up to you. Director: John Singleton Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Andre Benjamin, Tyrese Gibson, Garrett Hedlund, Sofia Vergara Release date: August 12, 2005 Rating: R for strong violence, pervasive language and some sexual content. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Four Brothers"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Brothers never really transcends the bloody, profane revenge genre — think a spaghetti Western with a Motown soundtrack. But it's the best Motown spaghetti Western it can be, pulling out all the rip-snorting, "Wooh, doggie!" shoot-'em-up's, requisite strapping leads, Snidely Whiplash-despicable villain, "You killed my Mama!" moments and an ethically dubious but oddly satisfying ending.

Yeah, it's sometimes a mess. But it's pretty awesome.

I had the unbelievably good fortune to see Four Brothers at a special screening of journalists in Atlanta, followed by a Q&A with director Singleton himself. One of the reporters got all serious journalista on us and told the director she was disappointed — she thought that the movie, whose ethnically diverse group of siblings are hard-nosed former foster kids adopted by their caseworker (Fionnula Flanagan), didn't offer a more in-depth, dramatic look into the foster-care system.

The dapper, passionate Singleton politely replied that while he did have a serious movie about foster care in him to make, this wasn't it. The rest of us, who'd spent about two hours screaming "Get 'em, Marky Mark!" just kinda looked at her like "Sistah, did you really expect this to be a serious treatise on social policy? Did you see the previews? Do the words 'Funky' and 'Bunch' mean nothing to you? Stop trying to be deep, and get over yourself!"

Of course, Singleton is more than capable of making a serious, socially probing film — the Oscar-nominated Boyz N the Hood, about the senseless death and fervent hope among youth in South Central L.A., was brilliant, and Baby Boy, though less perfect, was trying to say something about the plight of poor, young black men.

The most obvious messages in Four Brothers seem to be "Love knows no color," "Shooting somebody's mama is bad," and "Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and your evil, gun-toting henchmen even closer than that." You can't look much further than that for meaning, because I don't think you're supposed to embrace the problem-solving method that the four Mercer brothers hit upon, which is basically to shoot up Detroit until somebody 'fesses up to killing their mother.

Then again, you're really not supposed to condemn Bobby (Wahlberg), Angel (Tyrese "Tyson Beckford Called And Still Wants His Face Back" Gibson), Jeremiah (Andre "Andre 3000" Benjamin from the band OutKast) and Jack (Garrett Hedlund) for their vigilante justice tactics.

You're just supposed to shake your head, marvel at how good men must react to the violence around them — or maybe just stare real hard at the altogether pretty Tyrese Gibson until you forget what your problems with the script were in the first place.

We meet the brothers through some old-fashioned exposition, as Detroit detective Green (Terrence Howard), who is investigating Mama Mercer's shooting during a mini-mart hold-up, points out each of them to his partner Fowler (Josh Charles). Bobby is the hot-headed leader, Jeremiah is the soft-spoken, stand-up family man who made something of himself, Angel is the pretty boy, and Jack is the baby-faced wanna-be rocker.

None of them, except for Jeremiah, is completely up to any good. But all of them loved their mother, who gave them a chance at a real home. All of them want some answers. And all of them, except the law-abiding Jeremiah, are willing to bust some heads if necessary.

Meanwhile, the brothers are being threatened by a nutty, fur-loving crime kingpin, played by Dirty Pretty Things' Chiwetel Ejiofor as a cross between Scarface's Tony Montana, Peoples Hernandez from Singleton's Shaft and Sir Hiss, the villainous hench-snake in the animated Robin Hood.

He's a little hissy, a little prissy, completely vain and all over-the-top crazy. Like theater-trained Jeffrey Wright, who played Dominican gangster Peoples, the British-born Ejiofor is slumming, but he's clearly having a good time.

There are rampant good times to be had in Four Brothers — the fast, funny and brutal scene where the brothers chase a suspect through a projects hallway, only to meet his nasty canine alarm system; the breakneck car chase through the snow; and Singleton's lovingly rendered Motown soundtrack, much of which emanates from Mama Mercer's old-fashioned turntable. The music speaks volumes for the Mercers' loyalty to tradition and to each other.

Of course, the violence, car chases and abundant profanity speak loudly, too, so if that's not your thing, then Four Brothers isn't your thing. But if it is, you're gonna like it fine. And if you're looking for something deep and serious, well ... rent Boyz N the Hood.

The Flick Chick's Bottom Line: Four Brothers is what it is. And whether that's a good thing is up to you.