Four Lions: Blu-Ray: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Review by JAM
In a British black comedy from the mind of director Chris Morris, Four Lions examines the lives of five Muslim men who plan on making an impact on British society through the explosive nature of their own deaths.
Five radicalized Muslim men decide to join the fight against the British society they deem as evil and disrupt all that they can in their quest for martyrdom. From the leader Omar (Riz Ahmed) and his not so bright best friend Waj (Kayvan Novak), the token white convert Barry (Nigel Lindsay), bomb maker Faissal (Adeel Akhtar), and the late recruit to the group Hassan (Arsher Ali) each has his quirks and oddities that make them stand out yet blend in with the society of today. But as Four Lions is truly a black comedy, their plans do not reach the outcome they expect. From the crows to the sheep to a Heimlich performer, no one is totally safe from this group especially when they target the London marathon to make their statement. The death toll numbers in the couple as this inept group of friends find themselves fighting for what they think they believe in, but finding doubt in what they are doing to each other.
JAMS Ink on Four Lions
British humor for me can go one of two ways: knockout funny and hard to grasp. Knockout funny was Wild Target, the story of a hitman, a thief, and other undesirables. Four Lions was more of the hard to grasp. The characters covered a number of archetypes that could be found in any country, city, or large group of people which made it touch home. On the same token, the group is so convoluted that failure follows their every move. It is these failures in which the humor takes place whether through the loss of a “trained” crow, the over eager jostling of materials in a walled sheep pen, or the quick actions of a misdirected rocket attack the director seems to make a taboo topic into a satire as much British humor is. I just had a hard time with the British aspects this time.
EXTRAS
Featurettes included on the Blu-ray include deleted scenes which though fairly plentiful really seem to not contribute much overall as well as a couple of featurettes on London and its young Arab males along with an interview with a white Islamic convert about to stand trial. After the seriousness above along with the non-contribution of the deleted scenes, at least there is the behind the scenes look which actually comes off a bit as a gag reel as much as an insightful look behind the scene. I guess the idea of filming a man running as an ostrich is more funny to me than the actual scenes from the movie, but I did enjoy this quite a bit. The behind the scenes look takes in 5 scenes overall and is worth a check. Six panel storyboards for a scene were also shown which can be interesting to the right person and give insight into directorial ideas.
If you are into dark British humor and a look at the idiocies of this group of radicals, Four Lions just might be a movie for you. Check it out on March 8, 2011 when it hits stores near you.
Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.
Review by JAM
In a British black comedy from the mind of director Chris Morris, Four Lions examines the lives of five Muslim men who plan on making an impact on British society through the explosive nature of their own deaths.
Five radicalized Muslim men decide to join the fight against the British society they deem as evil and disrupt all that they can in their quest for martyrdom. From the leader Omar (Riz Ahmed) and his not so bright best friend Waj (Kayvan Novak), the token white convert Barry (Nigel Lindsay), bomb maker Faissal (Adeel Akhtar), and the late recruit to the group Hassan (Arsher Ali) each has his quirks and oddities that make them stand out yet blend in with the society of today. But as Four Lions is truly a black comedy, their plans do not reach the outcome they expect. From the crows to the sheep to a Heimlich performer, no one is totally safe from this group especially when they target the London marathon to make their statement. The death toll numbers in the couple as this inept group of friends find themselves fighting for what they think they believe in, but finding doubt in what they are doing to each other.
JAMS Ink on Four Lions
British humor for me can go one of two ways: knockout funny and hard to grasp. Knockout funny was Wild Target, the story of a hitman, a thief, and other undesirables. Four Lions was more of the hard to grasp. The characters covered a number of archetypes that could be found in any country, city, or large group of people which made it touch home. On the same token, the group is so convoluted that failure follows their every move. It is these failures in which the humor takes place whether through the loss of a “trained” crow, the over eager jostling of materials in a walled sheep pen, or the quick actions of a misdirected rocket attack the director seems to make a taboo topic into a satire as much British humor is. I just had a hard time with the British aspects this time.
EXTRAS
Featurettes included on the Blu-ray include deleted scenes which though fairly plentiful really seem to not contribute much overall as well as a couple of featurettes on London and its young Arab males along with an interview with a white Islamic convert about to stand trial. After the seriousness above along with the non-contribution of the deleted scenes, at least there is the behind the scenes look which actually comes off a bit as a gag reel as much as an insightful look behind the scene. I guess the idea of filming a man running as an ostrich is more funny to me than the actual scenes from the movie, but I did enjoy this quite a bit. The behind the scenes look takes in 5 scenes overall and is worth a check. Six panel storyboards for a scene were also shown which can be interesting to the right person and give insight into directorial ideas.
If you are into dark British humor and a look at the idiocies of this group of radicals, Four Lions just might be a movie for you. Check it out on March 8, 2011 when it hits stores near you.
Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.
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