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4x4
Movie

4x4

2019 • Crime, Thriller

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

A thriller that incites debate about a universal issue that is a daily subject in Argentina: insecurity. The plot tackles contentious and controversial topics such as enforcing justice outside the law, and the narrow line that separates victims from assailants.

Overall Series Review

The film 4x4 is a claustrophobic Argentinian thriller centered on a tense, high-concept conflict between a petty thief, Ciro, and the vehicle's owner, Enrique Ferrari, a doctor who has modified his SUV into a sophisticated trap as an act of vigilante justice. The narrative operates almost entirely within the confines of the vehicle, focusing on Ciro's desperate survival attempts and the psychological torment inflicted by Enrique via phone. The primary social commentary revolves around the contentious issues of rampant crime and insecurity in Argentina, the perceived failure of the legal system, and the blurred moral line separating the criminal and the punitive sadist. The plot is an intense exploration of class dynamics and personal morality, asking the audience to weigh a career criminal's deserving of punishment against a wealthy victim's monstrous methods of obtaining private revenge. The core themes are universal questions of justice and retribution, rather than modern identity politics.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The conflict is framed around classism, opposing an impoverished thief against a wealthy doctor, rather than race or intersectional hierarchy. The characters are judged by their actions: Ciro is a violent, recidivist criminal, and Enrique is a sadistic vigilante. Character merit, though heavily flawed on both sides, drives the narrative, not immutable characteristics.

Oikophobia3/10

The hostility is not toward Western civilization or heritage, but specifically targets the dysfunctional criminal justice system in Argentina that allows repeat offenders to be released quickly. The film critiques a failing national institution as the source of chaos, which prompts an individual to take justice into his own hands, rather than denouncing the culture itself as fundamentally corrupt.

Feminism1/10

The core plot is a male-on-male conflict, featuring two men, Ciro and Enrique, as the protagonists/antagonists. Female characters are non-existent in the main action, limited to brief mentions of Ciro's wife and son or Enrique's daughter and grandchild. No 'Girl Boss' tropes, emasculation, or anti-natalist messages are present in the central narrative.

LGBTQ+1/10

The plot is entirely focused on a thriller about crime, punishment, and survival within a locked car. There is no focus on sexual identity, alternative sexualities, or discussion of gender theory. The familial context, though minor, references the traditional nuclear family structure of a wife, husband, and son.

Anti-Theism4/10

The movie incites a debate about enforcing justice outside the law, framing morality as subjective and dependent on personal experience (Enrique's multiple victimizations) and class privilege. The absence of an external, transcendent law is a thematic void, but the narrative does not actively attack religion or vilify Christian characters; the moral vacuum is social/legal, not spiritual/anti-theist.