Hollywood is all about numbers and figures, graphs and charts, a continuous battle to follow the constant market of the day. The industry struggles to put out films exactly like the ones that keep making all the money at the time.

This is not any different from other businesses and the general idea works in the long run. The flip side to this style of film marketing is the massive recycling of material, story lines, plots and even actors that seem to make the films of the day one big epic instead of having stand alone credibility.

Lately, from poorly plotted horror films to bland comedies, the premise hasn’t changed. From estrogen-driven chick flicks to seriously overpaid actors in big budget action films, movie theaters have been bombarded with films that have no soul and rarely carry the director’s signature with it.

It took the end of the summer to bring a film worthy of praise and mention, “Four Brothers.” Director John Singleton, the savior of the summer, should be given a medal of honor not only for the brilliant movie he brought to the screen but also for saving the general audience from lifeless, over budgeted wastes of time.

This film, set in one of the urban areas of Detroit, brings the viewer not only to the shoot’em up gangs in the streets, but also to the more sophisticated underworld that runs the city. It begins by showing the kindness of the main characters’ mother and the tragedy of how she is killed.

The four brothers, two black and two white, were delinquents as children and were taken in by this nice older lady whom they called mom. Brought together by tragedy, they are drawn back to Detroit to bury her.

The mood is light in the early portion of the film as the brothers reunite after years of not seeing each other. It quickly turns intense when they turn to street justice to expose their mother’s killer. The brothers uncover that this is not just a random act of violence by gang members but there is a deeper meaning behind their mother’s death. Behind all the shooting, killing and themes of revenge the movie has a strong and sturdy plot.

This film is much more than the brothers’ quest to find their mother’s killer. They must also endure the great task of staying together and showing the true meaning of family amongst all their differences. These brothers have all led very different lifestyles in their time apart and this poses a greater challenge in the film than finding out who pulled the trigger. This challenge almost tears the family apart but doesn’t, showing that the love and bond between adopted families is as strong as it is in biological families.

Do not fear, for all you action junkies there is also a well put together car chase sequence that involves the brothers, members of a gang and plenty of shootings and blood shed. These sequences are very intense and a good change in mood from the somber mourning of the funeral and constant quarreling of the brothers. The actors all do a great job in this film, giving it realism and making the story believable.

Be wary when watching this film because even though it is loaded with bits of comic relief to alleviate some of the dreary moods, contains action packed sequences and suspenseful story twists, it is still a tear jerker and has more tragedy than is revealed in the trailer.