Four Lions Brings Light To A Very Dark Subject

The British black comedy Four Lions, the first feature directed by satirist Chris Morris, feels like a lovely combination of The Office and al–Qaeda. The extremely dark humor still manages to bring light to a not so funny topic, terrorism.

The film follows the story of a group of misfit terrorists hoping to enact their very own jihad. For which, they really haven’t much of a reason—they don’t care much for sticking to scripture, they haven’t been forced from their homeland. It seems they just want to wage war for war’s sake.

The leader of these stooge-like terrorists is Omar, played well by Riz Ahmed. He is the focus of the story, living a seemingly happy life—he’s married, has a kid, works a decent job—but still feels his life is unfulfilled. He, along with his bumbling gang of insurgents decide they must become martyrs to lend meaning to their lives.

The group comes up with various plans to enact terror, including the idea of blowing up a mosque to radicalize the moderate muslims.

In order to perfect their craft, Omar and Waj (Kayvan Novak) take a pilgrimage to Pakistan where they attend a terrorist training camp. Here, Omar is eager to help in any way he can. Intending to take down a low-flying drone, he inadvertently misfires a rocket in an act that would have put a much quicker conclusion to Zero Dark Thirty.

Once they are banished back to Britain, the group continue their inept attempts at planning an attack while attempting to operate in secret. They shake their heads quickly in an attempt to blur any possible photos, swallow their SIM cards, and take to a children’s chat room called Puffin Party to keep their plans a secret.

Once the group finally decides on their final plan, attacking the London Marathon, the climax leaves you unsure of whether to laugh or cry.

A satirical storyline, pitch-black humor, and truly explosive performances make Four Lions a must see.