Mark Wahlberg's Gritty 2005 Crime Movie Blows Up Netflix's Top Charts

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Mark Wahlberg is one of Hollywood's biggest A-list actors, but a movie he made 20 years ago is finding new life on Netflix. Wahlberg remains a huge star with movies like "Uncharted" and the lowkey hit "Flight Risk" to his name more recently, but the movie in question is a gritty crime drama in the form of 2005's "Four Brothers." It is by no means one of his more discussed movies, but it has evidently captured quite a few fans two decades removed from its initial release.

As of this writing, "Four Brothers" is the fourth-biggest movie on Netflix, per FlixPatrol. It sits behind only Jason Statham's "Wrath of Man," "The Girl Who Got Away," and the Netflix original "The Great Flood." It also sits just above Rian Johnson's latest "Knives Out" movie, "Wake Up Dead Man." That's all pretty impressive for what used to be a pretty standard piece of studio filmmaking. It's not as though we're talking about some unsung classic, all due respect. It was a movie that seemingly came and went in its day. Yet, here we are. It's one of the most-watched movies on by far the biggest streaming service in the world.

For those who may not have seen it or just need a refresher, it centers on four adopted brothers who reunite to bury the woman who raised them in the wake of her passing. At the funeral, they discover that the woman they affectionately called their mother was murdered, leading them to seek revenge on those responsible. The movie was directed by the late, great John Singleton, of "Boyz N the Hood" fame.

The rest of the cast includes "Transformers" and "Fast and Furious" franchise star Tyrese Gibson, OutKast founder Andre 3000, aka Andre Benjamin, and eventual "Tron: Legacy" star Garrett Hedlund. The likes of Terrence Howard ("Hustle & Flow"), Sofia Vergara ("Modern Family"), and Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Doctor Strange") also star.

In its day, "Four Brothers" was a decent hit, taking in just over $92 million at the box office against a budget in the $30 to $40 million range. Mind you, this was also in the days when DVD was a much bigger deal, as were cable rights. It was a big enough hit that Wahlberg was working on a sequel, aptly-titled "Five Brothers," in 2010. It never came to pass, but it was at least being batted around. It was also arguably at the height of Andre 3000's star power, as OutKast's "Hey Ya!" had topped the charts in late 2003, making him a hip-hop superstar. It was an eclectic, solid cast that came together at the right time, with many of these actors going on to have huge careers.

The fact that the movie is now popping off on Netflix speaks to the fact that folks seem to have a soft spot for this one. It came at an interesting time as Wahlberg was coming off of big, popcorn hits like "The Italian Job" but was starting to take on more serious roles too, such as in Martin Scorsese's "The Departed."

In more recent years, Wahlberg has sort of become the king of streaming with "Infinite," "Me Time," "The Family Plan," "The Family Plan," and his Netflix hit "The Union" all going direct-to-streaming. 

You can also grab "Four Brothers" on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon.