In the biting satiric style of In the Loop comes this peek into homegrown Muslim terrorism, British style. Director Chris Morris and his co-writers don't seem to be pushing an agenda with their jihad farce. It's not as if they were holding a mirror up to young men and saying, "Don't be like this." There's more of a feeling that someone said, "Humor can't cross this line," and Morris asked, "Why not?" To this end, he serves up a crew you usually find in a bumbling-criminals movie: the leader, the loudmouth who thinks he's the leader, the brawny dim bulb. Only, instead of knocking off a bank, they plan on blowing themselves up and taking some decadent Westerners with them. Four Lions is well acted, and the dialogue is howlingly funny. And just because it's a comedy doesn't mean the actions don't have consequences. (The end approaches Dog Day Afternoon intensity.) Is it trivializing to give terrorism the comedy-of-embarrassment treatment? I felt weird laughing, but, hell, why not?
