Search

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

thereviewers
Jul 27, 2015
3 min read

The Brothers Grimm tell the story of Will and Jacob Grimm (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger), who are travelling con men who promise to rid towns of imaginary monsters and non-existent demons in return for some quick cash. However, they soon see things beyond their imaginations when they encounter a real life enchanted forest and must work together vanquish the real monsters living within.

Overall Review Score

1 out of 10

Review

The Brothers Grimm is a 2005 fantasy action adventure starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. While the film starts off as a semi-believable and comedic fantasy it quickly descends into chaos as it haphazardly splices together multiple stories from the infamous Brothers Grimm fairytales in a confusing and disenable manner that can only be accurately described as a full-on and unrelenting assault on the audiences hearing and visual senses.

While some of the special effects were reasonably entertaining they are quickly overshadowed by lifeless, emotionally devoid characters, sets that are nearly as unappealing as the action unfolding within them and a story that increasingly leaves the audience wondering how and why this film was created. Matt Damon and Heath Ledger manage to put on two diametrically opposite performances in this film, to the point that they could have actually been portraying two different characters in two different films. Although, the supporting cast are far worse. They spend the majority of the film either screaming about some kind of overtly exaggerated mythical beast before running away in an unconvincing cowardly manner or rapidly spouting out dialogue in silly accents that suck the fun and momentum right out of the film. Overall, The Brothers Grimm is an overtly long film that lacks the momentum or plot to justify such a run time. While it stays true to its source material by being as dark, uncomfortable, and unrelenting as the Brothers Grimm fairytales, it is a film that crumbles into a pit of despair due to multiple plot flaws and poor acting. It is a film so nightmarish that even the Brothers Grimm would never have dreamed of penning it themselves.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 0 out of 10

Comments:

Acclaimed director Terry Gilliam has managed to produce an agonisingly dull and laborious mismatch of Grimm fairy tales to produce a 114-minute film that fails on every level. Not only does the director berate the audience with indications from countless Grimm fairy tales, such as Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood, without fully explaining any of them but also picks two polar opposite actors to play the Grimm brothers. To top this all off several of the actors, such as Heath Ledger and Jonathan Pryce put on ridiculous and annoying accents that do not help the film one bit. If you are a fan of the Grimm fairy tales or usually like performance by Matt Damon or Heath Ledger, I suggest giving this film a miss.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 1 out of 10

Comments:

Any film that starts with the word ‘once upon a time’ and ends with ‘and they lived happily ever after’ is taking a real risk, as the film needs to either be the best film ever to counteract such a weak opening and ending or it is going to fail horribly. Sadly, The Brothers Grimm falls into the latter. It is such hocus pocus that I do wonder if the director and actors actually wanted to create a decent film. While the film starts in a slightly amusing manner portraying the infamously dark Brothers Grimm as travelling con artists and their stories as elaborate cons designed to swindle French-occupied Germany out of money, it quickly descends the rabbit hole into the realm of fairy tale lunacy. While Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel attempts to rescue the film with impactful special effects, the films inability to stay on course and the characters bizarre facial expressions and reactions coupled with Mercurio Cavaldi’s (Peter Sormare) constant changing accent and screams leaves the audience huffing and puffing with despair. Overall, while The Brothers Grimm had the potential to be as thrilling as Grimms' Fairy Tales but its lifeless and overtly exaggerated plot coupled with an incredibly long run-time leaves even the most excited audiences angry and on the verge of boredom inducing sleep.