The Brothers Grimm

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5 out of 10

On the face of it The Brothers Grimm is a perfect match for the dark surrealism of Terry Gilliam. However it fails to live up to its potential.

The brothers (played by Matt Damon and Heath Ledger) are travelling con-artists who arrive in a village with a real fairy tale curse.

For a Fairy tale the cinematography is very grey and brown. There is little of the Gilliam imagination that we might have expected. Most surprising of all is that the special effects ranged from the sublime (blobby gingerbread man) to the downright awful. A scene where a CGI scarf was floating down a river was particularly derisible.

At times it seems that the script is a vehicle for referencing yet another fairy tale rather than to tell the tale that the viewer is actually watching. This is a shame because when the movie does get going there are moments to enjoy.

Comments

Mal said…
Still worth seeing, though?
7:00 pm
Colin said…
I wouldn't say don't see it, but...
7:54 pm
Colin said…
... don't expect Brazil or 12 Monkeys.
5:43 pm
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