This Bafta award winning Irish movie by Christopher Morris addresses one of the overtly spoken, burning issues of today known as terrorism in a very satirical yet compelling manner. A satirist by nature, Morris throws in extra effort to capture the madness of misfit jihadists who are suffering from attention deficit disorder or in pursuit of acclaimed identity.
Four novice jihad enthusiasts Waj, Barry, Omar and Faisal dream of enrolling in the terrorist academy in Paki
stan, with a sole purpose to kill or get killed. Unfortunately, only two manage to get selected to be part of the training camp in Pakistan – Waj and Omar. Meanwhile, back home in London Barry and Faisal are sketching their own scheme to blow up something. Waj and Omar return to London midway after severely screwing up in the camp. They’re sent back after being adjudged misfits for the job. Upon arrival in London, Waj and Omar come to learn about Barry’s plan. Together, the terrorist suicide squad set out to commit an act of terror. Will they be successful or not forms the rest of the story?
Four Lions is undoubtedly one of the best comedy films of the recent past. Although you are presented with the incompetent side of aspiring terrorists, but what you extract out of this film is that at the end of the day so many terrorists have no clue why are they fighting. They don’t have a purpose unlike the leaders of these groups who preach and follow certain ideologies. All those who enroll as suicide bombers are either brainwashed or forced to join due to some kind of pressure.
Another noteworthy aspect of the film is the effort taken by Chris Morris to portray the jihadists merely as individuals
with serious identity issues, trying desperately to fit in a community where they’re expected to be someone else. All extremists are not Muslims; likewise all Muslims are not extremists. But, some people in this community fail to understand it and thus succumb to religious hypocrisy. The clash between individual vis-à-vis religious ideologies is subtly captured by the director in such a way that you laugh but also pause for a minute to think through.
What you see in the film is very easy to relate to and therefore allows you to quickly connect with the proceedings. Thanks to the humor to top it all, the film is splendidly carried forward by some outstanding performances by Riz Ahmed and Will Adamsdale. For all their mishaps, there’s a genuine compassion and devotion between these “soldiers”. This is the emotional spine of Chris which also serves as the film’s greatest success.
The film has its moments of swear-festival which is incredibly funny. Especially Riz’s cusswords in Hindi is hilarious to watch and savor while the dumbness of Waj and Faisal maximizes the fun and makes your movie-watching experience worth it.
In essence; ‘Four Lions’ is an intelligently crafted satirical take on terrorism from the standpoint of the madness of confused jihadists.
One of the best scenes from the film. Watch and enjoy
