Four Lions star Riz Ahmed kills four pre-conceptions before they can be hurled at Chris Morris’ suicide-bomber-com…
1 IT TRIVIALISES TERRORISM! “This is absolutely not making fun of the death of innocent civilians and terrorist atrocities. The source of the comedy is the group dynamic between four deluded guys who set themselves on this path to what they see as glory – and their complete inability to pull that off. If you get a bunch of guys together to organise anything, they’ll fuck it up. That’s what the film’s about.”
2 IT INSULTS MUSLIMS AND ISLAM! “I’m Muslim and I wasn’t insulted by it… I don’t think this film attacks religion, or stereotypes Muslim people. It’s a unique portrayal where all people are united in their idiocy, no matter what their profession or background.”
3 IT WILL ENCOURAGE RADICALISM! [Cracks up] “I’m not sure how aspirational this bunch of losers are! I think if you come out wanting to be us, you’ve got other problems to deal with.”
4 IT STEREOTYPES BOMBERS AS STUPID AT A TIME WE SHOULD BE ON GUARD! “There’s a mixed intelligence level in the group. My character Omar is quite a bright guy, he’s driven by principles, he’s educated. Chris has based so much of Four Lions on true-to-life research. You hear stories about stuff like the terrorist cell in Yemen that wanted to launch a speedboat against a US naval ship and loaded up a boat with explosives and the boat sank. Ultimately people are people, they have their foibles and stupidities as well as their principles and objectives.”
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