Movies News Talk
Over his career, John Wayne starred in 80 Westerns, permanently changing the genre with hit movies like Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo and The Searchers. Although Wayne's shadow is large, few overt remakes of his most well-known films have surfaced. Assuming the role of a legend calls for a fearless performer.
Four Brothers, Mark Wahlberg's 2005 action thriller, is a subtly altered copy of John Wayne's 1965 Western, The Sons of Katie Elder. Four brothers get back together following the loss of their mother in order to pursue justice for her crime runs under the movies' central thesis. Although Four Brothers is more of a remix than a straight replica, it faithfully captures the core of The Sons of Katie Elder by highlighting a similar sibling relationship and revenge scheme.
Four Brothers brings a little of harsh realism and moves the tale into a more modern environment whereas The Sons Of Katie Elder is a classic Western. Singleton's picture follows a classic Western narrative and imbues it with a 1970s-style grit evocative of Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson flicks of that time.
Four Brothers offers an original viewpoint on the sibling dynamics and the revenge scheme. The brothers' relationship, inner strife, and will to exact revenge for the loss of their mother are shown with a depth and sincerity that improves the original narrative.
Though enjoyable, The Sons Of Katie Elder lacks the profundity and darkness of Four Brothers. More of a hard-hitting vigilante story, the Wahlberg picture doesn't hold back in showing its protagonists as anti-heroes. The cold-blooded, planned murders in Four Brothers give the movie The Sons of Katie Elder a dimension of moral uncertainty that it falls short in partially.
Four Brothers also provides the departed mother's character additional nuance. Fionnula Flanagan's Evelyn makes a lasting impression despite little screen time, therefore enhancing the emotional core of the movie.
Four Brothers is hardly the only stealth replica of a John Wayne Western. Among the many movies influenced by The Searchers are Paul Bettany's Priest and Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. One may see The Searchers as reinterpreted even in the original Star Wars, with its Western adventure model. Self-described John Wayne's lover John Carpenter has sporadically replicated Rio Bravo twice with Assault on Precinct 13 and Ghosts of Mars.
Filmmakers today still find great resonance in John Wayne's Westerns, which inspire a fresh generation of stories honoring the traditional themes and characters of the genre. These reworkings and reinterpretations show the continuing potency of John Wayne's films and their impact on the movie scene.