Once in a while a film is set to be released an my lil movie buff heart gets all a flutter only for it to be dashed on the cutting room floor amoungst all the celluloid off cuts. It happened with Lord of the Rings, a movie that promised epic battles, fantastical magics and a quest to end all quests and yes it delivered these but it bought with it boredom and a special extended edition you need a week put aside to watch. I also got all excited about ‘The Scariest Film in 10 years’ Paranormal Activity. Finally, I foolishly thought, a film that I can compare to The Shining (scariest film ever) but it wasn’t to be. That film makes me angry just thinking about it, its just bad.
Then I heard about a small film called Four Lions

The reason it piqued my interest was for the inclusion of one name….Chris Morris. Morris is the brilliant mind that bought us The Day Today and Brass Eye along with other great comedy shows and many appearances in TV comedy. Known as a ‘Media Terrorist’ and always happy to viciously satirise current events, Morris, who has teamed up with writers Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show, The Thick of It), Sam Bain (Peep Show, Smack The Pony) and with additional writing by Simon Blackwell (The Armstrong and Miller Show, The Thick of It) hasn’t eased up at all with his new movie Four Lions, a comical (and occasionally farcical) look at jihadism. Most would shy away from turning such a hot political potato as the threat of ongoing terrorism into a film we can laugh at, but pushing the boundaries is what Morris is good at, and a story about four bumbling, confused but enthusiastic Islamic fundamentalist wannabe terrorists is well within his grasp. The film follows four men, Omar (Riz Ahmed), Waj (Kayvan Novak), Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) and Barry (Nigel Lindsay) through jihad training camps in Pakistan and fooling bulk retailers of bleach by hiding their beards behind their hands as they plan and hope for glory in Northern England with a wit that only these writers can deliver.
A film that promises to dig up as many angry letter writers as it does full on belly laughs, Four Lions is one to look out for and to go see with friends who can see the funny side of anything.

Four Lions is showing in cinemas in the UK from the 7th May.