Four Lions
Encyclopedia
Four Lions is a 2010
British satirical comedy film
. It is the debut feature from director Chris Morris
, written by Morris, Sam Bain
and Jesse Armstrong
. The film is a jihad satire
following a group of homegrown Islamist terrorist
jihadis from Sheffield
, England.
men from Sheffield
have become radicalised and aspire to become suicide bombers
. They are Omar (played by Riz Ahmed
), the leading member who is deeply critical of Western society; his dim-witted friend, Waj (Kayvan Novak
) (sometimes referred to as Sean James Laing, Dog handler with low level common sense); Barry (Nigel Lindsay
), a bad-tempered White
convert to Islam; and naive Faisal (Adeel Akhtar), who tries to train crows to be used as bombers. While Omar and Waj go to a terrorist training camp
in Pakistan
, Barry recruits a reluctant fifth member, Hassan (Arsher Ali). The visit to the training camp ends in disaster, with Omar misfiring a rocket that kills fellow jihadists; however, he uses the experience to assert authority on his return to Britain.
The group begins acquiring materials for making improvised explosives but disagree about what to target. Barry wants to bomb a local mosque
as a false flag
operation in order to "radicalise the moderates", but Omar considers this idiotic. Faisal suggests blowing up a branch of Boots
, but Omar doesn't think it is a worthwhile target. Hassan compromises their secrecy by allowing a neighbour (Julia Davis
) into their safe house
, and the team must transport their volatile explosives to a new location. Faisal accidentally blows himself up after tripping in a field, resulting in a row among the remaining four, who temporarily separate. They reconcile, however, and Omar decides to target the London Marathon
.
Wearing various costumes to conceal their explosives — Omar as the Honey Monster; Waj as a man riding an ostrich
; Barry as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle; and Hassan as an inverted clown
— they prepare to blow themselves up. Waj expresses doubts about the rectitude of the plot, but Omar convinces him to go ahead. Hassan loses his nerve and tries to give himself up to the police, but Barry detonates his bomb using a mobile phone
, killing Hassan and alerting the authorities to the remaining three. Omar realises he has led his unwitting friend, Waj, into something he does not want to do, and sets off to make him change his mind. Omar eventually contacts Waj via his mobile phone, but is attacked by Barry, who swallows the phone's SIM card. However, Barry begins to choke on it, causing a passer-by to carry out the Heimlich manoeuvre and detonate his bomb.
Waj is cornered by police and takes a kebab
shop hostage. Omar borrows a phone and attempts to talk Waj down. However, his call is interrupted by a police raid in which they shoot a hostage whom they mistake for the bomber. Confused, Waj proceeds to detonate his own bomb, destroying the kebab shop. Distraught, Omar walks into a nearby pharmacy
and detonates his own bomb. It is revealed later that Omar's innocent and peaceful brother has been arrested and is suspected by the police to be a terrorist; that the police deflect responsibility for shooting the bystander; and that Omar and Waj killed Osama Bin Laden
when Omar misfired the missile in Pakistan.
experts, police
, the secret service
, and imam
s, as well as ordinary Muslims, and writing the script in 2007. In a separate interview, he asserts that the research predated the 7 July 2005 London Bombings
:
The project was originally rejected by both the BBC
and Channel 4
as being too controversial. Morris suggested in a mass email, titled "Funding Mentalism", that fans could contribute between £25 and £100 each to the production costs of the film and would appear as extras in return. Funding was secured in October 2008 from Film 4 Productions
and Warp Films
, with Mark Herbert
producing. Filming began in Sheffield
in May 2009.
Morris has described the film as a "farce
", which exposes the "Dad's Army
side to terrorism". During the making of the film, the director sent the script to former Guantánamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg
. Begg has said that he found nothing in the script that would be offensive to British Muslims
. The actor Riz Ahmed
also contacted Begg, to ask whether the subject matter was "too raw". When the film was completed, Begg was given a special screening and said that he enjoyed it.
in January 2010 and was short-listed for the festival's World Cinema Narrative prize. Introducing the film's premiere Chris Morris said: "I feel in a weird way that this is a good-hearted film. It's not a hate film, so I would hope that aspect would come through."
The UK premiere took place at the Bradford International Film Festival on 25 March 2010 followed by a nationwide release on 7 May.
Despite its acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, Four Lions failed to find a distributor in the US for nine months until finally newly formed Drafthouse Films picked it up. The film had a limited release
in the US on 5 November 2010.
and Blu-Ray on 30 August 2010, and was released in the US 8 March 2011.
Rotten Tomatoes
gives the film a "Certified Fresh" score of 81% based on 110 reviews with an average rating of 7.2 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that its "premise suggests brazenly tasteless humor, but Four Lions is actually a smart, pitch-black comedy that carries the unmistakable ring of truth."
The Daily Telegraph
wrote "[Chris Morris's] evocations of the claustrophobic mundanity of the Muslims' lives, their quarrelous banter, their flimsily pick 'n’ mix approach to the Koran all feel painfully, brilliantly real."
The Daily Express rated Four Lions 4/5 and praised the performances in particular, calling the film "brilliantly cast with all the actors displaying sharp comic timing and both [Riz] Ahmed and [Kayvan] Novak also bringing out the touching humanity of their characters."
Upon its screening at Sundance, The Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter
gave the film extremely positive reviews, the latter describing the film as "a brilliant takedown of the imbecility of fanaticism
" drawing comparisons with This Is Spinal Tap
and The Three Stooges.
Amongst the reviewers that gave the film negative and mixed reviews were Nigel Andrews
of The Financial Times
, who called the film a "spectacular miss". The Guardian
's Jeremy Kay, who wrote "as a satire on terror, Four Lions seems to be a missed opportunity".
Andrew Pulver, writing for The Guardian, gave the film a more favourable review, stating that "Chris Morris is still the most incendiary figure working in the British entertainment industry."
The UK premiere at the National Media Museum in Bradford
was followed by a question and answer
session with Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong
, Sam Bain
, three of the principal actors and two of the producers. Morris stated that he does not find the film at all controversial and that attempting to cause controversy is "one of the most boring things you can do".
on its opening weekend, generating the highest site average of all the new releases (£5,292) and making a total of £609,000. According to the Official Top 10 UK Film Chart (7–9 May 2010), Four Lions was placed at sixth behind Iron Man 2
, Furry Vengeance
, A Nightmare on Elm Street
, Hot Tub Time Machine
and The Back-Up Plan
.
Due to its popularity, Optimum Releasing
increased the number of screens showing the film to 200.
As of 8 August 2010, Four Lions grossed £2,932,366 at the UK box office.
As of 24 February 2011, Four Lions grossed $304,616 at the US box office, and $4,353,954 elsewhere, for a worldwide total of $4,658,570.
The lead actors, Kayvan Novak
and Nigel Lindsay
, were both nominated for 'Best Comedy Performance in Film' for the British Comedy Awards
2010. Kayvan Novak went on to win the award, thanking all his "brothers" — referring to his fellow actors in Four Lions.
At the BAFTAs
2011, Chris Morris
won the award for 'Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer'. He beat competition from The Arbor, Exit Through The Gift Shop
, Monsters
and Skeletons
.
2010 in film
The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and...
British satirical comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
. It is the debut feature from director Chris Morris
Chris Morris (satirist)
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
, written by Morris, Sam Bain
Sam Bain
Sam Bain is one of the co-creators of Channel 4's Peep Show, which won a BAFTA for best Situation Comedy in 2008. He was also one of the writers of two series of the BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound and the BBC Two sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look...
and Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong is one of the co-creators of Channel 4's Peep Show, along with Sam Bain. He also co-wrote the BBC Four comedy The Thick of It and was one of the writers on series 1 and 2 of the BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound and the BBC Two sketch show That Mitchell and Webb...
. The film is a jihad satire
Jihad satire
A Jihad satire falls within the tradition of political satire and can refer to a work of art that satirizes the idea of violent jihad. It can also refer to the theory that satirizing violent jihadis with the objective of making them figures of ridicule can be an effective means of defusing...
following a group of homegrown Islamist terrorist
Homegrown terrorism
Homegrown terrorism is commonly associated with an international organization rather than being a ‘lone wolf’ act committed by isolated and disturbed individuals. It constitutes terrorist attacks from within the target nation, often Western...
jihadis from Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England.
Plot
A group of young MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
men from Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
have become radicalised and aspire to become suicide bombers
Suicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
. They are Omar (played by Riz Ahmed
Riz Ahmed
Rizwan Ahmed , also known as Riz Ahmed, the Rizmeister General, or Riz MC, is a British MC, musician and actor. He is noted for his lead performances in The Road to Guantanamo, Shifty, Britz, and Four Lions.-Ethnic background:Ahmed is a British Pakistani...
), the leading member who is deeply critical of Western society; his dim-witted friend, Waj (Kayvan Novak
Kayvan Novak
Kayvan Novak is an award-winning British Iranian television actor and voice artist.- Voice actor :Novak has provided voice work for three video games: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo...
) (sometimes referred to as Sean James Laing, Dog handler with low level common sense); Barry (Nigel Lindsay
Nigel Lindsay
Nigel Lindsay is an English actor. He was nominated for Best British Comedy Performance in Film at the 2011 British Comedy Awards for his performance as Barry, the Muslim convert in Chris Morris's BAFTA winning Four Lions and won the 2011 Whatsonstage Award for Best Supporting Actor as Dr Harry...
), a bad-tempered White
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
convert to Islam; and naive Faisal (Adeel Akhtar), who tries to train crows to be used as bombers. While Omar and Waj go to a terrorist training camp
Terrorist training camp
A terrorist training camp is a training camp whose purpose is to teach students methods of terrorism. Terrorists train there to launch attacks, ranging from suicide bombing practice to field combat. They are often located in regions for the aims of those conducting the training, or in traditional...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Barry recruits a reluctant fifth member, Hassan (Arsher Ali). The visit to the training camp ends in disaster, with Omar misfiring a rocket that kills fellow jihadists; however, he uses the experience to assert authority on his return to Britain.
The group begins acquiring materials for making improvised explosives but disagree about what to target. Barry wants to bomb a local mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
as a false flag
False flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
operation in order to "radicalise the moderates", but Omar considers this idiotic. Faisal suggests blowing up a branch of Boots
Boots UK
Boots UK Limited , is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country...
, but Omar doesn't think it is a worthwhile target. Hassan compromises their secrecy by allowing a neighbour (Julia Davis
Julia Davis
Julia Davis is an English comedy writer and performer, best known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy Nighty Night.-Background:...
) into their safe house
Safe house
In the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
, and the team must transport their volatile explosives to a new location. Faisal accidentally blows himself up after tripping in a field, resulting in a row among the remaining four, who temporarily separate. They reconcile, however, and Omar decides to target the London Marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
.
Wearing various costumes to conceal their explosives — Omar as the Honey Monster; Waj as a man riding an ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
; Barry as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle; and Hassan as an inverted clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
— they prepare to blow themselves up. Waj expresses doubts about the rectitude of the plot, but Omar convinces him to go ahead. Hassan loses his nerve and tries to give himself up to the police, but Barry detonates his bomb using a mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
, killing Hassan and alerting the authorities to the remaining three. Omar realises he has led his unwitting friend, Waj, into something he does not want to do, and sets off to make him change his mind. Omar eventually contacts Waj via his mobile phone, but is attacked by Barry, who swallows the phone's SIM card. However, Barry begins to choke on it, causing a passer-by to carry out the Heimlich manoeuvre and detonate his bomb.
Waj is cornered by police and takes a kebab
Kebab
Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
shop hostage. Omar borrows a phone and attempts to talk Waj down. However, his call is interrupted by a police raid in which they shoot a hostage whom they mistake for the bomber. Confused, Waj proceeds to detonate his own bomb, destroying the kebab shop. Distraught, Omar walks into a nearby pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
and detonates his own bomb. It is revealed later that Omar's innocent and peaceful brother has been arrested and is suspected by the police to be a terrorist; that the police deflect responsibility for shooting the bystander; and that Omar and Waj killed Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
when Omar misfired the missile in Pakistan.
Cast
- Riz AhmedRiz AhmedRizwan Ahmed , also known as Riz Ahmed, the Rizmeister General, or Riz MC, is a British MC, musician and actor. He is noted for his lead performances in The Road to Guantanamo, Shifty, Britz, and Four Lions.-Ethnic background:Ahmed is a British Pakistani...
– - Kayvan NovakKayvan NovakKayvan Novak is an award-winning British Iranian television actor and voice artist.- Voice actor :Novak has provided voice work for three video games: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo...
– - Nigel LindsayNigel LindsayNigel Lindsay is an English actor. He was nominated for Best British Comedy Performance in Film at the 2011 British Comedy Awards for his performance as Barry, the Muslim convert in Chris Morris's BAFTA winning Four Lions and won the 2011 Whatsonstage Award for Best Supporting Actor as Dr Harry...
– - Adeel Akhtar –
- Arsher Ali –
- Craig ParkinsonCraig ParkinsonCraig Parkinson is a British actor known for playing the twins Jimmy and Johnny Kray in the 2010 ITV drama Whitechapel.Parkinson first came to notice with his portrayal of English music mogul Tony Wilson in director Anton Corbijn's film Control .His film and television appearances include People...
– - Benedict CumberbatchBenedict CumberbatchBenedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English film, television, and theatre actor. His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking ; William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace ; the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy ; Paul...
–
Production
Morris spent three years researching the project, speaking to terrorismTerrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
experts, police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, the secret service
Secret service
A secret service describes a government agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For instance, a country may establish a secret service which has some...
, and imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
s, as well as ordinary Muslims, and writing the script in 2007. In a separate interview, he asserts that the research predated the 7 July 2005 London Bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
:
The project was originally rejected by both the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
as being too controversial. Morris suggested in a mass email, titled "Funding Mentalism", that fans could contribute between £25 and £100 each to the production costs of the film and would appear as extras in return. Funding was secured in October 2008 from Film 4 Productions
Film4 Productions
Film4 Productions is a British film production company owned by Channel 4. The company has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom. The company's first production was Walter, directed by Stephen Frears, which was released in 1982.- History :Before 1998, the...
and Warp Films
Warp Films
Warp is one of the foremost and most respected creative independent companies, now composed of Warp Records, Warp Films and Warp Music Videos & Commercials. It is based in London, England and Sheffield, with a further office now in Melbourne, Australia...
, with Mark Herbert
Mark Herbert
Mark Herbert is a UK film producer and the head of the Sheffield-based production company Warp Films.He produced: Four Lions, Dead Man's Shoes, and Phoenix Nights ....
producing. Filming began in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in May 2009.
Morris has described the film as a "farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
", which exposes the "Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
side to terrorism". During the making of the film, the director sent the script to former Guantánamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg , is a British Pakistani Muslim who was held in extrajudicial detention in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, by the U.S...
. Begg has said that he found nothing in the script that would be offensive to British Muslims
Islam in the United Kingdom
Islam has been present in the United Kingdom since its formation in 1707, though it was not legally recognised until the Trinitarian Act in 1812. Today it is the second largest religion in the country with estimates suggesting that by 2010 the total Muslim population had reached 2.869 million.The...
. The actor Riz Ahmed
Riz Ahmed
Rizwan Ahmed , also known as Riz Ahmed, the Rizmeister General, or Riz MC, is a British MC, musician and actor. He is noted for his lead performances in The Road to Guantanamo, Shifty, Britz, and Four Lions.-Ethnic background:Ahmed is a British Pakistani...
also contacted Begg, to ask whether the subject matter was "too raw". When the film was completed, Begg was given a special screening and said that he enjoyed it.
Release
The film premiered at the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
in January 2010 and was short-listed for the festival's World Cinema Narrative prize. Introducing the film's premiere Chris Morris said: "I feel in a weird way that this is a good-hearted film. It's not a hate film, so I would hope that aspect would come through."
The UK premiere took place at the Bradford International Film Festival on 25 March 2010 followed by a nationwide release on 7 May.
Despite its acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, Four Lions failed to find a distributor in the US for nine months until finally newly formed Drafthouse Films picked it up. The film had a limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the US on 5 November 2010.
Home media
Four Lions was released in the UK on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-Ray on 30 August 2010, and was released in the US 8 March 2011.
Critical response
Four Lions received mostly positive reviews.Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives the film a "Certified Fresh" score of 81% based on 110 reviews with an average rating of 7.2 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that its "premise suggests brazenly tasteless humor, but Four Lions is actually a smart, pitch-black comedy that carries the unmistakable ring of truth."
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
wrote "[Chris Morris's] evocations of the claustrophobic mundanity of the Muslims' lives, their quarrelous banter, their flimsily pick 'n’ mix approach to the Koran all feel painfully, brilliantly real."
The Daily Express rated Four Lions 4/5 and praised the performances in particular, calling the film "brilliantly cast with all the actors displaying sharp comic timing and both [Riz] Ahmed and [Kayvan] Novak also bringing out the touching humanity of their characters."
Upon its screening at Sundance, The Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
gave the film extremely positive reviews, the latter describing the film as "a brilliant takedown of the imbecility of fanaticism
Fanaticism
Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause or in some cases sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby...
" drawing comparisons with This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
and The Three Stooges.
Amongst the reviewers that gave the film negative and mixed reviews were Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews is a film critic of the Financial Times who has written books on John Travolta, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the film Jaws. A graduate of Cambridge University, he has also written for The Listener and Radio Times...
of The Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, who called the film a "spectacular miss". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
's Jeremy Kay, who wrote "as a satire on terror, Four Lions seems to be a missed opportunity".
Andrew Pulver, writing for The Guardian, gave the film a more favourable review, stating that "Chris Morris is still the most incendiary figure working in the British entertainment industry."
The UK premiere at the National Media Museum in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
was followed by a question and answer
Q&A
-General:* Q&A is a media relations technique whereby public relations professionals attempt to anticipate journalists' questions on a particular issue and provide answers in order to prepare their spokespeople for press conferences and interviews...
session with Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong is one of the co-creators of Channel 4's Peep Show, along with Sam Bain. He also co-wrote the BBC Four comedy The Thick of It and was one of the writers on series 1 and 2 of the BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound and the BBC Two sketch show That Mitchell and Webb...
, Sam Bain
Sam Bain
Sam Bain is one of the co-creators of Channel 4's Peep Show, which won a BAFTA for best Situation Comedy in 2008. He was also one of the writers of two series of the BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound and the BBC Two sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look...
, three of the principal actors and two of the producers. Morris stated that he does not find the film at all controversial and that attempting to cause controversy is "one of the most boring things you can do".
Box office
Despite an initial release on just 115 screens across the UK, the film saw impressive numbers at the box officeBox office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
on its opening weekend, generating the highest site average of all the new releases (£5,292) and making a total of £609,000. According to the Official Top 10 UK Film Chart (7–9 May 2010), Four Lions was placed at sixth behind Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man, the second film in a planned trilogy and is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon...
, Furry Vengeance
Furry Vengeance
Furry Vengeance is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Roger Kumble. It stars Brendan Fraser, Matt Prokop, and Brooke Shields.-Plot:It all started when a prairie dog screams after Riggs' car passes by it and throwing a cigar, not minding about the environment...
, A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010 film)
A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 2010 American slasher film directed by Samuel Bayer, and written by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer. The film stars Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker and Kellan Lutz...
, Hot Tub Time Machine
Hot Tub Time Machine
Hot Tub Time Machine is a 2010 American science fiction adult comedy film directed by Steve Pink. Four men, all of them bored with their adult lives, travel back to their 1980s teen-hood, courtesy of a time-shifting hot tub. It stars John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Kellee Stewart, Rob...
and The Back-Up Plan
The Back-Up Plan
The Back-up Plan is a 2010 romantic comedy film, starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin. It was released theatrically in the U.S. on April 23, 2010, and later in other regions...
.
Due to its popularity, Optimum Releasing
Optimum Releasing
StudioCanal UK is a film distributor company working in the UK and Ireland. The company releases many films, including foreign language films, anime releases such as Studio Ghibli's films and independent British, Irish and American films in the UK and sometimes Ireland.Optimum was acquired by...
increased the number of screens showing the film to 200.
As of 8 August 2010, Four Lions grossed £2,932,366 at the UK box office.
As of 24 February 2011, Four Lions grossed $304,616 at the US box office, and $4,353,954 elsewhere, for a worldwide total of $4,658,570.
Accolades
Time Magazine rated the film as among Top 10 movies of the year 2010.The lead actors, Kayvan Novak
Kayvan Novak
Kayvan Novak is an award-winning British Iranian television actor and voice artist.- Voice actor :Novak has provided voice work for three video games: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo...
and Nigel Lindsay
Nigel Lindsay
Nigel Lindsay is an English actor. He was nominated for Best British Comedy Performance in Film at the 2011 British Comedy Awards for his performance as Barry, the Muslim convert in Chris Morris's BAFTA winning Four Lions and won the 2011 Whatsonstage Award for Best Supporting Actor as Dr Harry...
, were both nominated for 'Best Comedy Performance in Film' for the British Comedy Awards
British Comedy Awards
The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.-History:...
2010. Kayvan Novak went on to win the award, thanking all his "brothers" — referring to his fellow actors in Four Lions.
At the BAFTAs
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
2011, Chris Morris
Chris Morris (satirist)
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
won the award for 'Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer'. He beat competition from The Arbor, Exit Through The Gift Shop
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Guetta happily accepts the assignment, adopting the name "Mr. Brainwash", putting up street art in the city and six months later, re-mortgaging his business to afford renting copious equipment and a complete production team to create pieces of art under his supervision...
, Monsters
Monsters (2010 film)
Monsters is a 2010 British science fiction film, written, shot and directed by Gareth Edwards. Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy star in the lead roles.-Plot:...
and Skeletons
Skeletons (film)
Skeletons is a 2010 British film directed by Nick Whitfield, starring Ed Gaughan, Andrew Buckley, and Jason Issacs. It was nominated for 'Outstanding Debut by a British Director' at the 64th British Academy Film Awards. Skeletons was the winner of the "Best new British feature film" award at the...
.