Four Lions (2010)

Posted January 14, 2011 by Matt in Comedy

Rating

Review Score

85%

Summary

Genre: Comedy

Year: 2010

Plot: Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, what emerges is an emotionally engaging (and entirely plausible) farce. In a storm of razor-sharp verbal jousting and large-scale set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de force; it shows that-while terrorism is about ideology-it can also be about idiots.

Release Date: January 23, 2010

Goodies:

+ Extremely intelligent and socially relevant comedy

Baddies:

- Some may not give it a chance based on the content

Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, what emerges is an emotionally engaging (and entirely plausible) farce. In a storm of razor-sharp verbal jousting and large-scale set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de force; it shows that-while terrorism is about ideology-it can also be about idiots.

by Matt

Review

I had put off seeing Four Lions for quite a few months because it seemed like it could be in what I consider ‘indie poop’ category, and I now regret waiting so long! Four Lions is written by the same folks who write the show “Peep Show” (which if you haven’t seen, go to Hulu and watch it now!) , and I only learned this after I saw and fell in love with the movie. At first, I thought the concept of ‘idiotic terrorists” could be funny, but where would they really go with such a concept. The dialogue and characters are where this film is brightest. I considered even giving the film a 9, but because of the accents, I missed some of what was going on in the film. There were several parts of the film where I laughed for a good 3 minutes straight. The characters were both lovable yet regrettablyÂ fallibleÂ — the kind you see on “America’s Stupidest Criminals”. It had that very tone, but wrapped it in a great story and sprinkled cultural, political, and situational humor (without making it feel disjunctive) into the mix. If you have been on the fence about this film, trust someone who felt the same way, and see it! This film WILL be lost on you if you buy into the whole terrorist hype / fear-mongeringÂ syndrome that the media likes to instill in everyone — because the film isn’t about hating terrorists, but about people who believe in something so much that they are willing to go to extreme lengths (which is inline with what a terrorist would be), and takes a comedic and farcical look at that scenario. Very much worth your time.