--- title: "Four Lions: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/four-lions/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/four-lions" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Four Lions (2010): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 15 reviews: 12 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics welcome Four Lions as a daring, frequently funny black comedy that makes its would-be terrorists recognisably human without softening their intentions. Praise centres on the characters’ bickering, muddled thinking and personal loyalties, with the laughs coming from the distance between their ambitions and their competence. The reviews also value the performances, verbal comedy and uneasy feeling that accompanies the farce. For many, the affection these men inspire makes the threat of violence more disturbing. The disagreement is chiefly about how much the satire achieves beyond exposing stupidity. Some otherwise favourable reviews find the film episodic or detect a lull, while harsher assessments see broad slapstick replacing sharper thought. The Independent finds the jokes unconvincing and largely unfunny despite strong performances, especially Riz Ahmed’s. The New Yorker admires the satirical energy but argues that the straightforward storytelling lets viewers feel too comfortably superior to the characters. ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The critic lauds the film as a bold, hilarious farce that humanizes its absurd characters through sharp satire and effective storytelling, arguing it successfully uses humor to expose the stupidity of extremism while evoking genuine emotion. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/four-lions-is-comedy-of-terrors-7419759.html) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin Rating B+. 4 November 2010. The critic praises the corrosive black comedy for humanizing its hapless would-be jihadists while delivering audacious, dangerous laughs from the gap between their delusions and reality. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/four-lions-1798166469) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 3 May 2009. The critic praises the film's consistent humor and sharp satire on inept jihadists while acknowledging its potential to offend; it highlights the strong central bond between the lead characters and the comedy arising from their personal dynamics rather than broad barbs. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/four-lions-review/) ## Radio Times — Adam Smith Rating 4/5. The audacious jihad comedy is very funny and occasionally emulates the faux quaintness of Ealing comedies. The suicide bombers are portrayed as a mostly likeable bunch despite their grim intentions. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-2evdqb/four-lions/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2010. The film is a transgressive dark comedy and wicked satire about incompetent would-be jihadists whose amateurish schemes highlight self-defeating idiocy. It regards imbecility with a poker face and permits horrifying acts to occur absentmindedly, fueled by both merriment and anger. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/four-lions-2010) ## Sight and Sound — Ben Walters Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 June 2010. The critic highlights how the film presents homegrown jihadists as buffoons driven by woolly thinking and peer pressure, with their incompetence yielding very funny jokes. Tragedy lurks beneath the farce, rendering fundamentalism sympathetically pathetic. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/5471) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 4 May 2010. The film is praised for its absurdist spirit, crafted wordplay and loose freewheeling air, with some scenes hilarious and others loopy. It strives for something unusual and essentially true behind the gags. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/four-lions-2) ## Los Angeles Times — Michael Ordoña Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 2010. The challenging and often hilarious study of bickering homegrown terrorists planning suicide bombings elevates above mere farce through extensive research and profound intellect, playing the premise for laughs and something deeper without heavy-handedness. It offers a complex and considered glimpse into a rarely seen world of utter absurdity and horror via fly-on-the-wall pseudo-documentary style. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-nov-05-la-et-1105-capsules-20101105-story.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2010. Festival review. The review describes a madcap farce about bumbling British Islamic terrorists, with hilarious scenes of destruction and a mix of anger, credulity and incompetence. It is daring and potentially offensive. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/four-lions/5009960.article) ## Little White Lies — Dan Brightmore Rating 4/3/2. 6 May 2010. The review calls it a patchy black comedy that quickly gives way to farce and gag point-scoring rather than sharp satire. Strong performances are undermined by slapstick, leaving a bitter aftertaste. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/four-lions/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2010. The invective energy and Swiftian vision of a confederacy of dunces are never in doubt as the film enters the funny world of the suicide bomber with a sole intelligent being among outright cretins. It marks a backward step from the director’s prior media-disemboweling work by telling the story straight and allowing smug belief that viewers know better. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/11/15/long-roads) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2010. The review finds the film intelligent and topical in its satire of jihadist incompetence but ultimately unfunny, with jokes that feel broad and unconvincing despite some grotesque pathos and strong performances, especially from Riz Ahmed. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/four-lions-15-1965333.html) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager 31 October 2010. The critic finds the film intermittently amusing but mostly a snooze, criticizing its tepid slapstick and failure to make its satirical arguments coherent or consistently funny. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/four-lions/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 6 May 2010. The critic praises the film's cheerful scorn towards suicide bombing, portraying the bombers as ridiculous bunglers rather than fearsome figures, and highlights the uncomfortable depiction of the main character's happy family life as a key element. The only minor complaint is a slight lack of relentless verbal invention compared to Morris's previous work. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/may/06/four-lions-review) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Duane Byrge 14 October 2010. Festival review. The critic calls it a hilarious farce and brilliant takedown of the imbecility of fanaticism, likening the jihadists to the Three Stooges in their bungled plots. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/four-lions-film-review-29194/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 4 November 2010. The satire is shockingly hilarious and stiletto-sharp, portraying a squad of British nitwits eager to wage jihad but unsure how, with incompetence married to zeal proving funny yet not benign. It offers a thoroughly cynical, cringe-inducingly precise portrait of a slice of contemporary society through jerky low-budget style and bursts of slapstick. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/movies/05four.html) ## The Telegraph Rating * * * *. 6 May 2010. The review describes it as a comedy of errors as much as a tragedy, meticulously researched, portraying the aspiring jihadists as a raggle-taggle Dad’s Army of chancers and bunglers rather than ideologically honed revolutionaries. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/7686374/Four-Lions-review.html) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B+. 4 November 2010. The critic finds the film a sharp, funny satire that succeeds by treating its terrorist characters as buffoonish idiots rather than monsters. Comic timing and standout performances, especially Nigel Lindsay as the convert Barry, are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://collider.com/four-lions-movie-review-chris-morris-riz-ahmed/) ## Den of Geek — Simon Brew Rating 4/5. 23 April 2010. The critic praises the film's daring satire and balance of humor with unease, highlighting the hilarious outtakes scene and Nigel Lindsay's performance as Barry, but notes it feels slightly long with a lull in the middle. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/four-lions-review/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating B. 5 November 2010. The review finds the satire audacious, wry, and amusing but slight and episodic, feeling more like a TV episode than a substantial feature film. It praises the goofy British humor and biting commentary on terrorism but notes it doesn't go deep enough. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-audacious-four-lions-has-a-good-comedy-roar-but-never-moves-in-for-the-kill-20101105/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson 25 January 2010. Festival review. The film is described as both laugh-out-loud funny and serious, with heart, laughs, and unsettling issues raised by the bungling wannabe bombers. Morris is praised for comedy with a chilling edge and entertaining satire that raises poignant questions. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/four-lions-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## HeyUGuys — Jon Lyus 5 May 2010. The critic calls the film a modern British classic that is truly hilarious and unique, with amazing performances and a twisted momentum. It is praised for its emotional engagement, dark humor, and the strong feature debut from Chris Morris. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/review-four-lions/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/four-lions.md