Episode 6

full
Published on:

10th Dec 2025

Four Brothers

This week on Forgotten Cinema, the Mikes head back to the gritty mid-2000s with "Four Brothers" (2005), John Singleton’s revenge-fueled action drama.

Mike Butler has a soft spot for this one; partly out of nostalgia for the early-00s wave of gritty, street-level action movies, and partly because "Four Brothers" still delivers a certain messy charm. The energy, the brother dynamics, and the rough-edged style all hit the way they’re meant to.

Mike Field, however, isn’t buying it. He struggles with Mark Wahlberg’s improvisational approach, finds the action too over-the-top to fully suspend disbelief, and thinks the movie’s drama doesn’t land strongly enough to justify the chaos.

What the Mikes do agree on is the standout performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor, who elevates every scene he’s in and gives the film a much-needed dose of grounded menace.

So is "Four Brothers" a gritty throwback worth remembering, or a chaotic blend of tones that doesn’t come together? The Mikes break it all down—brotherhood, bullets, and all.

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0:00 - Introduction

2:05 - Film Facts

7:20 - Film Discussion

29:08 - Reviews

33:15 - Who Would You Recommend This To?

38:19 - Why Is This Forgotten?

44:11 - Plugs

#ForgottenCinema #FourBrothers #MarkWahlberg #Andre3000 #Tyrese #GarretHedlund #JohnSingleton #00sFilm #ActionFilms #MoviePodcast #FilmDiscussion #UnderratedMovies #ClassicFilms

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About the Podcast

Forgotten Cinema
A podcast about forgotten films that deserve a second chance
Welcome to Forgotten Cinema! Each episode, Mike Field and Mike Butler highlight a film that for a variety of reasons was forgotten by audiences. Whether it be because a more popular movie was released at the same time or the movie simply didn’t catch on with an audience in the its initial run. We’ll discuss what we love about the movie or perhaps don’t love about it and decide whether the movie is worth a revisit.