Genres

Visitors Review

sap_chick 2012-05-22 20:37:49

Original, hilarious- and shifts the perspective on the 'why' of terror

This is not a perfect movie, but it's a damn funny one - and, it turnsout, an important one. In the US, since 2001 our ethos is that Muslims hate freedom, and hateAmerica because of our freedom, and that drives their hatred of us."Four Lions" presents an alternative view - the "bunch of guys"view...You have a bunch of guys who want to be great, who want to standfor something, and they need only the thinnest of common purpose andoutlet for doing it (i.e., becoming 'martyrs to the cause'). And theydon't have to be geniuses... by a long shot. In fact, usually they'renot.Omar works as a security guard and suffers sleep-inducing monologues byhis colleague through their shift. His wife is a nurse, and they have ayoung son. (I wish the film went further to explain why his wife isokay with the fact that he wants to kill people - and himself, thuswidowing her and leaving his beloved son behind.) His brother is astrict Muslim who is ironically too conservative for Omar and hiswife's taste. Thus falls the first assumption: that terrorists must befundamentalist Muslims. Omar and his 'simple' cousin are thrilled to be called to Pakistan fortraining - but once there, are completely out of their element, and inover their heads. Back home, the group of misfit would-be terroristsclash over their purpose, and disagree about the prerequisites formartyrdom... Thus falls a second assumption: that terrorists are unitedin a single purpose and belief. The director explained that in his research, time and time again hefound laugh-inducing real examples of stupid or ignorant terrorists,like the Koran-quoting terrorist who got his quotes so wrong, theinterviewer corrected him; or the guy filled with "suppositoryexplosives" who got within hand-shake distance of a Saudi prince beforedetonating himself - and shooting 50 feet through the roof of the tentin which they were standing, killing only himself. "Four Lions" echosthis reality, and breaks down the myth of the highly-skilled, zealousfundamentalist who hates freedom.Instead, we have groups of marginalized young men seeking a purpose anda voice, who think they will find a greatness in martyring themselvesthey'd be unable to achieve in 'regular life', mislead - sometimesintentionally - by a skewed comprehension of their holy book. "Four Lions" will keep you laughing, even if you find it hard tobelieve that you're watching a case of art imitating life. NOTE: theaccents are very thick in this one, so those who have difficulty withGuy Ritchie movies or similar may wish to buy this off iTunes and watchwith subtitles instead.

GC_MaxProductions 2012-05-22 14:10:40

So 9/11 and 7/7 were funny were they?

A disgusting attack on British culture, trying to humanise theterrorist acts of Muslim extremists who are still active in the UnitedKingdom, their numbers growing rapidly.Was 9/11 funny when nearly 3000 people died in the twin towers thatcollapsed after jumbo jets were flown into them by Muslim extremists?Was 7/7 funny when 52 people died aboard public transport systems after4 suicide bombs were detonated by Muslim extremists?I'm ashamed to say I actually liked Brass Eye as this "film" is beyondwhat any normal westernised citizen would justify as appropriatematerial for viewers of any age. This "film" should not have beenallowed to be shown and it's director should be fined and jailed.

walshyrover 2012-05-13 17:57:35

Rubber Dinghy Rapids!

I sat down one night and flicked through the channels and found this asit was starting. I loved this film, the characters had depth, the storywas different and it was my film of the year. I think it is a verybrave thing to release as some people may be offended by it. I haveMuslim friends who love this film, they are practically addicted to it.I have to say though, this film is aimed at British viewers, because ofthe white/Muslim communities throughout Britain. I find that comediesnow are getting less and less funny because they are the same most ofthe time. But because this is totally different to what anyone has seenin comedy before it's a big hit. I do say though you need to be prettyswitched on when watching it because of the fast one-liners andbrilliantly funny comments. I love how this is based on a reallyserious topic, and if you take away the comedy, you would realise howserious the topic is. One of my favourite films of all time, and to menever gets old, how many times i watch it.

Capo-idFilm 2012-05-13 02:45:39

Pretty one-note comedy

In his Sight & Sound review of the film (it's Film of the Month intheir June issue), Ben Walters notes that "it's hard to take entirelyseriously radical guerrillas who communicate via cartoon avatars on awebsite called PuffinParty". We may also say that it's hard to takeentirely seriously a filmmaker whose message is how stupid we all arewhen the majority of his film relies on in-joke exclusivity. Indeed, ifthe berks in the cinema aren't laughing directly at what they (wrongly)assume is racial stereotypes, then they're laughing at... their ownstupidity? The comedy of Four Lions is cynical. For all the researchcarried out on his subject, Morris's film is largely one-note. Many ofthe physical and visual gags – the obvious one being that in whichFaisal accidentally blows himself up ("one sheep was killed in themaking of this film", we're told at the end credits) – are meant toshock, but there is no emotional anchor to make their apparentlyinherent hilarity rich enough to linger.You can read a fuller review of this film here:http://www.idfilm.blogspot.com The verbal gags, meanwhile, arehit-and-miss. Most of them are again one-note: a pattern emerges quiteearly on, in which Morris's largely unsympathetic, beyond-stupidcretins fire off a string of long-winded, unusually-worded insults thattake on a why-use-three-words-when-thirty-will-do verbosity andvelocity. Whether people find this funny or not – and many do – it'squite predictable. Over the course of a feature film, it becomes dull.Having characters occasionally mouth their vulgarities in Urdu withsubtitles does little to disguise the creative transparency.It's impossible to take anything in this film seriously. None of thehumour is grounded or nuanced; no amount of loud cacophonies can hideits lack of spontaneity. Just because the film is a comedy does notmean it gets a pass for neglecting the essentially serious subjectmatter at hand. In this sense, the film is a contradiction, given theMorris quotes already mentioned here.To his credit, Philip French of The Observer has offered a more soberassessment of the film: "Like that other fashionable movie comedian,Sacha Baron Cohen, who also made his name exposing the gullibility ofboth the kindly disposed and the deeply prejudiced, Morris's TV hoaxeshave confirmed his low opinion of humanity." His latest work doesnothing to change this view.Comedy isn't an illegitimate or lower form of art. It does have thepotential and purpose to highlight the absurd aspects of life's darkermoments. But Four Lions, as Philip French rightly notes, offers a lowopinion of not only everyday people, it deliberately does not offer anytruthful analysis or way out of such idiocy. Morris plays everythingfor laughs here, to the point where even a more somber denouement seemsmerely perfunctory, to combat all of the criticisms already by thatpoint applicable to the film.Read more at idfilm.blogspot.com

Tin Tin-3 2012-05-13 06:01:17

Hugely disappointing - a comedy without laughs

Chris Morris set the bar so very high with 'The Day Today' almosttwenty years ago, and raised it further with 'Brass Eye' a decade ago.'Four Lions' doesn't clear that bar. It doesn't even clip or crash intothe bar in a valiant attempt to go over, it sails way under the bar andflops onto the mat as a flabby comedy without laughs.I'll leave the (genuine, not PR-submitted) 100-line reviews to othersbut can only confirm that the 1.30pm showing I attended in Edinburghtoday was greeted with the odd snigger, but overwhelming apathy.Shades of the decline and fall of 'A Bit of Fry And Laurie' here asthis film seemed to stretch for 'post-modern' comedy - i.e. not funny -in an attempt to be clever and influential. Without success.I prefer my comedies to make me laugh, I'm reactionary like that, and'Four Lions' hit the mark about three times in 120 minutes. To theperson who described this as: 'laugh out loud from start to finish' -hope you enjoyed spending your kickback.This is Morris's stab at a legacy the like of 'Life of Brian', a filmthat transcended comedy. A lofty ideal, for sure, but he's light yearsaway with this submission.Simply not good enough on just about every level.

pol-macreannachain 2012-05-12 15:43:26

Just because it's Chris Morris, it doesn't mean it has to be funny.

For those of you gearing up for another Brass Eye special, lookelsewhere. This film is not a bunch of shocking belly-laughs. It's noteven a bunch of clever sniggers. It's bleak, depressing, sad, downbeat,cruel, merciless and brilliant. The subject matter - a cell of suicidebombers planning their campaign - could have produced a rotten,jeering, mockery of Islam; but this is not the case here. Thankfully.Religion is not the issue here. The issue, explored through thecharacters of the eponymous Four Lions, is of identity. They feel alienin the UK. They are treated as alien in Pakistan. One of the cell, awhite English convert, seem only to have converted because of the lureof fanaticism: it gives shape to his inchoate rage about the worldaround him. One member is weak and lead by the others. One is stupidand isn't sure what he's doing... ***SPOLIER***... his last wordsadmitting as much. One is simply a braggart out of his depth. Theleader of the cell, perversely supported in his suicidal ambition byhis young son and nurse wife - in one grim scene the family gathersaround him, lovingly encouraging him in his demise - is also weak. Andfoolish. And angry. And like the others, there is the feeling that ifthere were another way to resolve his frustrations, he'd take it. ChrisMorris based these characters on witnesses brought to trial onterrorism charges. The slap-stick and buffoonery that we see on thescreen is based on real-life idiocy. But if the cinema remains quieterthan it should in a comedy, it is only because these men are going tokill themselves and others. And that's no laughing matter. Morris madehis name with outrageous provocation - and this is no exception - butwhere his past efforts were short, TV bursts of biting satire, thisfeature-length film gives him the room to create a picture of lostyoung men, unsure of who they are and what they want, caught in aninexorable tide with no option to escape. Their weakness, stupidity,anger, pride and desperation forbids it. The first film of its kind toemerge from the UK, it has refused to lampoon Islam, or point thefinger of blame at religion. Rather it shows us that our society hascreated people for whom obliteration is better than life. Catch itwhile you can.

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain 2012-05-12 10:18:37

Four Lions (2010)

As a huge Chris Morris fan, I waited, with nervous anticipation, forhis first feature length film. He's from a television background, andhis work is controversial, hilarious and thought provoking. Would hisideas make the transition to a full 97 minutes? The answer is a huge,resounding, YES! In order to discuss the film properly, one must firstoutline how they observed the film. To me, this is far from a comedy.It is a film with some hilarious moments. However, it pays equalattention to social commentary and drama. Is terrorism funny? No. Yetneither is the idea of a group of men attempting to murder an old lady,or nuclear war, and yet The Ladykillers and Dr Strangelove are bothcomedy classics. Because, like Four Lions, the humor is not derivedfrom the main element that the actions center around. The humor comesfrom the farcical bumbling nature of the protagonists. Like it or not,extremist actions take a lot of planning and a lot of people. Take bothof these ideas and there are going to be mistakes, some more funny thanothers. Four Lions does well to show a balance of contradictions andhypocrisy amongst the leads. It also shows us that terrorists arehuman. If we forget this, then our view of these extremists will becomeas twisted, misinformed and as dangerous as their interpretation oftheir religion. Morris mixes humor, frightening moments, and hardbiting emotion. Ahmed discussing his actions to his son, poorly veiledas the "true" story of The Lion King, the love between Ahmed andKalidas, and the bond between the five men, are just some of thoseawkward but charming moments that make this a complex film. A film thatis great entertainment, as well as being relevant and important. Thisis what we need in cinema.

napierslogs 2012-05-11 18:39:20

Take Pinky and the Brain, clone Pinky twice more, convert them to Muslim extremists and place them in today's London

"What are we going to do tonight, Brain?" "Same thing we do everynight, Pinky. Try to take over the world!" Is it wrong of me to compare"Four Lions" to the WB animated series "Pinky and the Brain"? I don'tthink so. This film is filled with side-splitting laughter andsatirical takes on suicide-bombers plotting one ridiculous terroristattempt after another even more ridiculous terrorist attempt. ClonePinky two more times, convert the four of them to Muslim extremists andplace them in London in today's world, and you've got Omar and hisfellow anarchists trying to teach the world a lesson.Their incompetence is taken to the same extremes as their beliefs.Their possible targets include expletive-described Disney theme parks,their own Mosque, and using such genius methods as strapping a bomb toa crow, or to themselves as they are running around a field. You willlaugh until you cry.Laughs aside, it takes a special kind of film to create fourprotagonists out of inept suicide-bombers and emotionally connect you.And we haven't even touched the moxie that these filmmakers have totackle such a subject. Comparisons to "Dr. Strangelove or: How ILearned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" and Monty Python are allvalid here. Even if this story isn't your style, it's hard not to beimpressed with how they pulled off "Four Lions".

2012-05-10 23:06:02

Good humor is based on truth and this is hilarious

This is pretty much how I think of home-grown jihadists - naive, confused, stupid, immature and generally ineffective.The four young Brits who fancy themselves soldiers in a great Muslim uprising are probably much closer to reality than most people think.The police are just as inept and ridiculous in their response to threats, real and imagined.It's easy to see how so few acts of Islamic terrorism succeed if the would-be perpetrators are this inept.This is one of the best films I've seen this year. I think it deserves a much wider audience.

2012-05-10 14:39:32

Funny

This review is from: Four Lions (DVD) This film provides a great satirical presentation of a serious problem. There is some off color language and some religions may find it offensive. The acting is excellent and the story is entertaining.

richardmpreston 2012-05-05 05:23:15

Should be compulsory viewing

Anyone aware of the work of Chris Morris will know what to expect fromthis film: brave, intelligent, insightful, compassionate, and veryfunny. Never one to shy away from 'difficult' subjects, it's not hardto imagine how this film could have gone very badly wrong in the handsof a less talented film-maker. Although a lot of the scenes aregenuinely side-splittingly funny, Morris and his writers still let yousee what lies behind one of the most frightening developments interrorism: the suicide bomber.Although much is made of the bombers bungling, and of courseincompetent doesn't even begin to describe it, there is a complexity tothe writing of the characters that humanises them and makes thepoignancy of the ending so much sharper.There always seems to be a point to Chris Morris's work, and by holdingup to ridicule both the futility of what the bombers hope to achieve,the ludicrousness of their 'martyrdom', and the polarising andincompetent response of the western authorities to the threat, thisfilm is a textbook case of what satire really should be about;genuinely funny, but with bite, depth and feeling. Absolutely superb.

nigelbruen 2012-05-04 17:08:49

A brave attempt that did not work.

This film is almost as amusing (I do not use the word 'funny') as 'theFull Monty' and we all know how dismal that was. It barely raised atitter; the most whimsical moment being the scene in the LabourExchange which did at least warrant a slow smile. 'Four Lions' was a brave attempt to portray, through the medium ofcomedy, a particularly edgy subject. Sadly it lacked the clevernessrequired to pull it off. It could be argued that such a subject shouldnot be made the subject of satire but surely, as history has shown us,the best way to deflate overbearing, arrogant and ill-informed rhetoricis to poke fun at it.The makers of this film should be commended for their bravery intackling the whole frightening world of Islamic fundamentalism. Hadtheir talent for comedy matched that bravery, they could have produceda film that, despite the number of awards obtained, could actually havebeen enjoyed by the ticket-buying public.

Mehul D 2012-05-03 08:47:07

In the all-time top 10 comedies of my life..

I can't think of another film where someone died on screen and I burstout laughing till the tears came out. What makes it funnier is that thecaricatures are spot on. What makes this film great is that nothingseems like a stretch..except perhaps the stupidity of one of the guys.But even that works very well within the film and doesn't jar. Itwould've been very easy to fall into stereotype-traps and to getpreachy..but this film manages to avoid that and with aplomb.For sheer blackness, slap-stickicity, and hilarity, this comparesfavourably with Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085743/)..catch it if you can.Definitely in my personal all-time top 10 comic films..and even breaksinto the all-time top 10. Highly recommended.

davidgee 2012-05-02 21:55:44

Carry On up the Jihad

Four Lions is a sort of Carry-On take on suicide bombers. The ineptquartet (or quintet if you include the one who has a kind of lamb roganjosh moment!) almost belong in Dad's Army. The humour is prettysimplistic - an endless variation on their ineptitude - but it ISfunny. Some of the cast are appealing, esp the dumbest and handsomestone. The training camp scenes and the Marathon scenes take the humourto an appropriately dark level without losing the Carry-On inanity.One thing. Why no jokes about the 72 virgins that await suicide bombersin the Gardends of Paradise? Lots of room for humour here (but giveSusan Boyle a rest, please!). I've always wondered, why do they get 72virgins and not 70 or even 700? Are they used once and discarded? (Inwhich case what happens to discarded ex-virgins? And can they be tradedin for a new model, like car scrappage?) If they'd gone down this road,there could have been a gay bomber (some "batty-boy" jokes wereincluded). Would he get 72 virgin hunks? Is that what female bombersget?We need to know these things!

Grassy1 2012-05-01 19:55:56

Pathetic Humour

This film is a very poor attempt at trying to capture humour fromterrorism. I was very skeptical before watching with good reason. Ihighly doubt whether any director can make terrorism funny and norshould they even try.Next was the casting. The over acting was to a point where these actorswill probably never get another role in another movie.It was so predictable there wasn't anything I didn't see coming.Hopefully the director thinks twice before making another monstrositylike this again. Do yourself a favour and steer well clear of thisfilm.

Theo Robertson 2012-05-01 05:13:40

A British Film That Amazingly Picks Up In The Second Half

One of two problems that British films have suffered from in the lastcouple of decades is that they look too much like made for TV films .It's an obvious fault but perhaps an understandable considering that amassive amount of totally British financed movies were produced byChannel 4 films and have a production team who started off intelevision . The second oft quoted criticism is that a British filmcan't sustain its first half . Even a fairly successful criticallyacclaimed film like 28 DAYS LATER suffers from this . In which caseFOUR LIONS whilst never looking truly cinematic does tend to buck thetrend by picking up in the second half This is a film that courted controversy before it even opened . " Howdare anyone even consider making a comedy film about terrorists "screamed the tabloids but the British press - unlike the twisted comedygenius that is Chris Morris - aren't known for their sense of humour .The humour in the first half of the film is relatively hit and miss .There's some occasional laughs but much of the jokes centre around abunch of wannabe jihadists standing around talking to each other andthe jokes start to wane This would have been the best half in most other Brit flicks but oncetheir plan comes to fruition and decide to bomb the London marathonthings start to pick up . Morris creates near the knuckle mean spiritedhumour at its darkest . People dying poignant violent needless deathshas never been funnier . And just remember it's only a film - no humanbeings, terrorists or honey monsters were harmed during its making

2012-04-25 17:31:53

I enjoyed this immensely, like Spinal Tap

Terrorism? A comedy about terrorism?? Yes. And it's very funny. And if you're uncomfortable about the concept, I was told that the versions of the American "Hogan's Heroes" which played on German TV overdubbed scripts which made the Germans look even more inept than they were portrayed in the original. I suspect the Germans don't want to give the Nazis any credit, and I think that's the path Chris Morris has taken with his cell of British terrorists.The stumble-bum efforts approach slapstick, and the comic timing is brilliant. Morris's lens extends beyond the cell itself, into Omar's family and how proud they are of his goals; the cell leader's dull colleague; and the police. (One line from his colleague reminded me of a line in Robert Townsend's "Hollywood Shuffle" : "This ain't no jive a** hot dog stand you're working at - - this is Winky! Dinky! Dog! ")

sumitcena2001 2012-04-25 03:49:57

One of a kind

OMG this movie is so funny It cannot be expressed it in words. Thecharacters playing with bombs... 1 guy saying he wanna blow theinternet. I laughed my ass off. The characters were very funny ....this might not be the true face of terrorist but but if this is I wanta bunch lot of movies about them I simply loved the character "Waz" whowas stupid. I wish this movie was at least 2 hours long so I couldwatch those fools for a longer period of time. The movie started offpretty good .... there was not even a single part where the movie seemsto be boring , and proceed with the story with a lot of humorthroughout. If u don't watch this movie u are simply missing a greatcomedy movie may be the best comedy movie of the year.

2012-04-20 00:02:48

Dark humor and not for everyone

But I chuckled. A lot.A group of disaffected Pakistanis in England, led by a imam who is a converted Brit decide that they must leave their mark on history. Apparently, that mark is a bloody and slightly smeared footnote. Two of our characters get the call to go off to an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan. Meanwhile the white imam continues to plot to blow up a mosque to mobilize the Muslim population against the non-believers. When the aspiring jihadis return, the group begins to plot their great blow for their faith. Needless to say, it doesn't go quite as planned. It's hard to go into the gags without spoilers, but most of them stem from two sources. First, some of the silly notions harbored by terrorist wannabes, like flailing your head around to keep surveillance cameras from getting a good shot of you. The others came from inept use of explosives. This is the part that isn't for everyone, as some of the gags were... um... lethal. And messy.The humor isn't fast paced, and is often in fairly macabre and surreal juxtapositions. I'm OK with this, but many might not be. The imam's passing is especially ironic and might not work for many. And they did try to put a human (and not always stupid) face on the British Muslims. The scenes of the lead character's homelife showed some of the inconsistancies of actual terrorists.Good flick, not as funny as the trailer implies, but worth the time to watch.E.M. Van Court

Joe 2012-04-19 13:39:27

Dark and incredibly funny satire on religious martyrdom

In the UK, Chris Morris is famous for the very controversial "Brasseye"series, and he has taken that iconoclastic attitude to the big screento help create this wonderful little film.It's a crude yet intelligent satire on a group of young men who want tobe martyrs for the Islamic Al-Qaeda in the UK. Rather than portray themas dark shadowy men, they are really just everyday bumblers and naivemen. The frightening aspect is that despite the humour, they are aimingto mass murder which always is behind the scenes.The film uses humour to demystify the self-styled jihadists and takeaway any sort of menacing notoriety and show them as the frighteningbunglers that they are. The fear is when one group actually manages tocarry out what they set out to do.This film is worth watching. You will be rolling with laughter, but youwill end the film with many thoughts on the questions raised also. It'ssimply another great bit of political satire, and I recommend ithighly.