Directed by:
Shekhar KapurCinematography:
Robert RichardsonComposer:
James HornerCast:
Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Kate Hudson, Djimon Hounsou, James Cosmo, Lucy Gordon, Daniel Caltagirone, Rupert Penry-Jones, Michael Sheen, Christian Coulson (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
The story of a British commander, Harry (Heath Ledger), who follows in his father's footsteps by joining the army. He is engaged to marry the woman of his dreams, Ethne (Kate Hudson), whose father was also a soldier. But when his regiment is to be sent to war in the Sudan, Harry gets nervous. On a whim, he resigns his post, and is instantly rebuffed by three of his closest friends. They each give him a feather symbolic of his fear. When he tells Ethne what he has done, she gives him the fourth, explaining that she cannot love a coward. Lost and alone, Harry cannot come to grips with what has happened. So he travels alone to the Sudan, hoping to in some way help his fellow countrymen and redeem his honor. What he finds instead is a land rife with slavery, brutal violence, and a deadly desert climate. He is befriended by Abou (Djimon Hounsou), a Sudanese wanderer, who saves Harry's life time after time. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
Without any reversals, without deep character development, without any plausible developments. The Four Feathers, despite diligent slow-downs or excessive sought-after grandeur, succumbs to unbearable boredom with its tired story and unremarkable fight scenes. Its salvation, meaning its weary second star, comes in the form of the charismatic Wes Bentley, but everything else, despite the seeming quality of the acting, is at the level of the most predictable dime-a-dozen novel.
()
I can see quite a solid shower here, is this another case of herd mentalilty, so common here on FilmBooster? I hadn't read the reviews here beforehand (which in my experience is often not a bad thing), so I was able to enjoy this film quite unprejudiced. And what did I get? An easily digestible, slightly above average adventure story, with a solid production design, one nicely handled battle (I could feel the dust under my fingernails), and a charismatic Djimon Hounsoune (my favorite). Perhaps only the overly melodramatic last fifteen minutes weren't quite right for my taste.
()
A huge disastrous flop where absolutely nothing works. Watching this travesty can truly be at your own risk, because you have never seen such badly filmed action scenes, an inappropriate casting, and a story that is completely pointless.
()