Brothers Grimm
cast: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger
The good: quite funny
The bad: really poorly made
Brothers Grimm is a case of a good idea gone awry, a novel concept left at the hands of one-handed snakes (yes, I know, snakes don’t have arms – that’s the point). I liked it, and I wouldn’t ask for a refund. But, unfortunate, really, is the final outcome.
The Brothers Grimm is composed of two brothers: Wilhelm and (Matt Damon) Jacob (Heath Ledger). They are medieval scam artists. Skilled in deception, modern science at that time, and all-out tomfoolery, they go from town to town ‘exorcising’ all kinds of demonic creatures, building up a reputation, and earning big sums of money from the poor, deceived townsfolk It isn’t long, however, before their antics are discovered by the French authorities (the story’s set in French-occupied Germany), and they are forced to work on a case in a remote village where young girls are disappearing one by one – a case which the French believe to be the work of another team of scam artists. This isn’t the case, however.
Where the film succeeds is in its attempt to fuse together classic fairy tales (Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk) as the background or framework for presenting its storyline. References are often made and scenes are played out using the memorable events from the stories (like the girl dressed in a red hood who disappears in the forest – the movie actually gives a scene where Jacob, the nerdy-type of the two, lists the description of the girl as red riding cloak).
My primary concern with the film is its confused identity: not knowing whether to go the route of a comedy, horror, or fantasy. True, many movies manage to combine seemingly contrasting genres but The Brother Grimm isn’t one of those movies. I was disturbed when after a series of funny moments, the film conjures up literally two decapitated heads from a box. It’s this seemingly gigantic mood swings which detracts from the experience. The visibly poor production values doesn’t help matters any. Its funny seeing the Wolf Man prance around in bad CG.
Otherwise the performance of the two main actors gives life to the drab colors of the film. Damon and Ledger seems like a perfect match and we could be seeing the beginning of another Hollywood duo much in the same vein as Stiller and Wilson, Chan and Tucker.
Towards the end, the focus is not so much really on developing set plot points but on unraveling whatever else is in store. Much like fairy tales which has short life spans, The Brothers Grimm follows the same formula as it doesn’t bother with details; finishing the story is just enough.
The Brothers Grimm is a thoroughly enjoyable film with just enough humor and charm (wait till Jacob jumps from the tower towards the end – hilarious!). Its beset by unfortunately low production values which reduced its fantasy setting tremendously; hampered by a somewhat lacking script; dusted by less-than-even directing qualities, but the whole film still manages to offer a good time, and viewers with low expectations should surely watch it. (2/5)
The good: quite funny
The bad: really poorly made
Brothers Grimm is a case of a good idea gone awry, a novel concept left at the hands of one-handed snakes (yes, I know, snakes don’t have arms – that’s the point). I liked it, and I wouldn’t ask for a refund. But, unfortunate, really, is the final outcome.
The Brothers Grimm is composed of two brothers: Wilhelm and (Matt Damon) Jacob (Heath Ledger). They are medieval scam artists. Skilled in deception, modern science at that time, and all-out tomfoolery, they go from town to town ‘exorcising’ all kinds of demonic creatures, building up a reputation, and earning big sums of money from the poor, deceived townsfolk It isn’t long, however, before their antics are discovered by the French authorities (the story’s set in French-occupied Germany), and they are forced to work on a case in a remote village where young girls are disappearing one by one – a case which the French believe to be the work of another team of scam artists. This isn’t the case, however.
Where the film succeeds is in its attempt to fuse together classic fairy tales (Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk) as the background or framework for presenting its storyline. References are often made and scenes are played out using the memorable events from the stories (like the girl dressed in a red hood who disappears in the forest – the movie actually gives a scene where Jacob, the nerdy-type of the two, lists the description of the girl as red riding cloak).
My primary concern with the film is its confused identity: not knowing whether to go the route of a comedy, horror, or fantasy. True, many movies manage to combine seemingly contrasting genres but The Brother Grimm isn’t one of those movies. I was disturbed when after a series of funny moments, the film conjures up literally two decapitated heads from a box. It’s this seemingly gigantic mood swings which detracts from the experience. The visibly poor production values doesn’t help matters any. Its funny seeing the Wolf Man prance around in bad CG.
Otherwise the performance of the two main actors gives life to the drab colors of the film. Damon and Ledger seems like a perfect match and we could be seeing the beginning of another Hollywood duo much in the same vein as Stiller and Wilson, Chan and Tucker.
Towards the end, the focus is not so much really on developing set plot points but on unraveling whatever else is in store. Much like fairy tales which has short life spans, The Brothers Grimm follows the same formula as it doesn’t bother with details; finishing the story is just enough.
The Brothers Grimm is a thoroughly enjoyable film with just enough humor and charm (wait till Jacob jumps from the tower towards the end – hilarious!). Its beset by unfortunately low production values which reduced its fantasy setting tremendously; hampered by a somewhat lacking script; dusted by less-than-even directing qualities, but the whole film still manages to offer a good time, and viewers with low expectations should surely watch it. (2/5)
posted by NaCl at Wednesday, September 21, 2005
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