Tuesday 3 January 2012

Four Lions (2010)



Rubber Dinghy Rapids Bro!

A film about British Muslim suicide bombers could have been cringeworthy, inappropriate (especially as it’s directed by Chris Morris), or just plain awful. As it turns out, it is a very entertaining, and funny (very dark humour) film. The story revolves around four main characters who want to protest against western capitalist consumerism, ultimately by blowing stuff up. There is a very strong performance by Riz Ahmed who plays Omar, the leader of the group, who tries to keep his fellow Jihadists focussed. Nigel Lindsay is also very good as the unhinged Barry, who thinks that the best target for their act of terror should be the local Mosque! These two are supported by Kayvan Novak (Waj), and Adeel Akhtar (Faisal) who manage to be so believable and serious despite their characters being so incompetent; Waj couldn’t have a thought of his own if his life depended on it, and Faisal is training crows to carry bombs into buildings!

Despite the subject matter and the way the film portrays the perpetrators, (I think) the film is never offensive. Rather it makes the audience wonder whether real terrorists have such conflicting ideologies, and whether the organisation involves muppets like Barry and Waj. At the end of the day Four Lions is a very entertaining film, helped along by a very sharp and witty script, a cast who suit their roles perfectly , and the kind of black humour that Chris Morris is so good at.

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