THERE'S much to be said for a good story well told and director John Singleton sets out such a stall in this commendably straightforward tale of revenge in the rundown suburbs of Detroit.

Grey-haired granny figure Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan) is well loved in the 'hood, not least because she has fostered generations of troubled ghetto boys and girls. When she is shot dead in a shop raid the locals are shocked and the four boys she could never find homes for are out for revenge.

The brothers - Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Angel (Tyrese Gibson), Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin) and Jack (Garrett Hedlund) - are troubled souls trying to make their way in the world. The goodness they share is all down to their foster mum whose reality checks inform their every move, no matter how far they cross the line.

Their quest for revenge reveals the shooting was anything but a random robbery that went wrong, it was an execution. Before long, the story is knee-deep in sociopath gangsters, bent cops, dodgy business deals, corrupt councillors, madcap Latin lovers, car chases in the snow and a variety of shoot-outs.

There are more than enough twists and turns to keep the mind active while the eye drinks in the searing action and the ears digest the snappy script. Singleton's un-fussy use of the derelict Detroit locations echoes that of 8 Mile and gives the film a downbeat, 70s-feel enhanced by the use of classic Motown cuts such as Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man and Inner City Blues.

Acting-wise, this is Mark Wahlberg's best showing since Three Kings. Clearly comfortable with the semi-autobiographical role of Bobby, he makes sense as a kid from the wrong side of the tracks with his own line in street justice. Benjamin too demonstrates his acting chops to good effect proving he's a lot more than a pretty face and chart-topping singer (with OutKast).

Four Brothers won't dazzle or amaze, but neither will it disappoint.

See it at UCI, Odeon